


Path The Stars

by IxN0VA



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Fuck off and let me enjoy myself, Robot h0t, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22098409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IxN0VA/pseuds/IxN0VA
Summary: Krystal is a typical girl working at the Bar in the Apex Lounge. She serves drinks to all the fans, ignores the games, and is unfazed by the fact she gets to interact with all the Legends almost every day. Well, almost all of them. One of them, doesn't drink alcohol, and until recently, she had no idea he even existed! Hi-jinks and confusion ensues when she finally meets Pathfinder - a quirky and unique MRVN unit who's on a Mission to find his Creator, and just make everyone he meets smile!
Relationships: Mirage/Wraith (mentioned), Pathinder/Original Character
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is 100% just a self-insert (kinda) fic to explore Pathfinder's character and also the fact he h0t. Leave me alone, let me have this.
> 
> That said if you want to read it and enjoy it, fill your boots.
> 
> I have spell check but some things slip through, be mindful of typos.  
> Some characters might be OOC but I try my best.
> 
> Fiction is slow going but trying to keep up with the current seasons and will include more characters eventually, it was started shortly after Crypto was added.
> 
> Will tie in with another fiction with another Apex Legends OC that my friend is making.
> 
> Notice: Some stuff is heavily headcanoned such as there being a VR game within universe of the games.

“Krystal!” A dark skinned man identified the black haired woman working behind the counter at the infamous Paradise Lounge.

“Tucker!” The woman, now know as Krystal would call back to him, greeting him with a smile as she watched him approach her counter. “You finally made it!”

“Yeah, it was a lot harder to get in than you said it'd be.” Tucker replied as he took a seat at the bar stool and watched as Krystal started to pour him a drink and hand it to him.

“The owner said I could invite one or two friends free of charge, you just had to show them that email I sent you.” Krystal explained, sitting on her own stool on her side of the counter now to continue the conversation with her friend.

“Easier said than done. I had to go about explaining how I knew you, and what my intentions were and all of that. Security really grilled me.”

Krystal raised a brow at him, seemingly not buying his story. “You forgot about the email, didn't you.”

“I forgot about the email.” Tucker admitted instantly, taking a sip from his drink to follow up with that statement. “But hey, at least they were nice enough to take my word for it.”

“I told them in advance about you showing up, figured you'd mess something up, and gave them your name and description.” Krystal explained, giving Tucker a smug grin.

“...Thanks.” Tucker was both appreciative and insulted, on the one hand she was kind enough to put that precaution in place to avoid trouble... On the other hand she had a feeling that he'd mess something up, which he did, and he was mad at himself for proving her right.

“So?” Tucker looked back towards her now, a wide grin on his face. “How is it?”

“How's what?” She questioned.

“The job?” Tucker clarified. “How does it feel working for the Apex Games?”

“I'm not really working for the Apex Games, they are just a partnership that own the bar.”

“You're still owned by them, so therefore you are working for them.” Tucker argued. “You must be so stoked though! You get to meet and interact with the Legends themselves! I heard they come here!”

“Legends?” Krystal cocked her head to the side.

“The people who play in the games?” Tucker questioned. “Oh c'mon, don't tell me you're working here and still on that stubborn streak of yours.”

“I don't care about the games, I'm sorry if I don't enjoy a bloodsport.” Krystal frowned at him.

“You're like the only one who doesn't like the one thing that makes Talos famous across the galaxy!” Tucker complained. “How can you not like the Apex Games still? You get to meet actual celebrities!”

“I'm just serving drinks, It's not that deep.” Krystal shrugged at him.

“Dude!” Tucker exclaimed. “Come on! I'd kill to work here! I'd give up my job at HR so fast if they offered me a spot in the games! Mirage himself signs your paychecks, how are you not at least a little bit excited about that?”

“Who?”

“The guy with the decoys and the cool tech! He owns the Lounge? Your boss!?” Tucker stared back at her with the most exasperated expression. “Augh, never mind! You're hopeless!”

Krystal took a moment and then it clicked. “Oh! You mean Elliot? Yeah he's alright-”

“You're on a first name biases with him!?” Tucker seemed so surprised by this. “Oh my god! You're on a first name biases with Elliot goddamn Witt and you're acting like this is just another Friday for you?!”

“...Because it is?”

Tucker let out a frustrated cry, biting down on his tongue and throwing his head back as he downed his drink and slammed the glass back down on the counter. He took a deep breath. “How's the job?” He asked her again, sounding a bit strained.

“It's okay. As good as it gets for a barista's salary I guess.” Krystal replied, standing up to take a moment to serve a beer to a costumer that wandered by the counter. “Everything is very upscale and the tips pay well. I can't really complain, I seem to be good at my job.”

“That's good then.” He replied, watching as she went to collect some returned empty glasses and start washing them. “So you just, casually see the Legends everyday, huh?”

“They're not 'Legends' to me.” Krystal explained, her back turned to him. “They're just normal customers like the rest. Regulars, I guess. I know each of their drinks off the top of my head by now, and I guess I have some glimpses into their personal lives too. Their likes, dislikes, etc. You overhear a lot in these kinda jobs.”

“And yet you wonder why I'm so excited?” Tucker said, holding out his drink glass for her to take it and start cleaning it out too. He started to reach for the bowl of dry pretzels, popping one in his mouth before continuing. “They're just the same as any other celebrity I guess, so like, do you know how many people would kill to have the opportunities you have right now?”

“Maybe that's why they hired me?” Krystal questioned, turning to Tucker now, resting her elbows on the counter and her head on her hands. “I don't care about all of that and just focus on my job, that's probably what they were looking for. Someone who doesn't get distracted by all that nonsense.”

“...You make sense and I'm mad about it.”

Krystal shrugged, smiling at him and went back to cleaning up the counter. While Tucker took a moment to take in the bar's scenery, he noticed the large TV screens hanging in every section of the Lounge. Groups of people were gathered around them, sharing drinks and cheering at the events happening live on the screens. Another Apex Game was underway it seemed, they always showcased all the Legends together on Fridays.

The match seemed to be coming an end, which Tucker felt grateful for the fact he had made it here in time to catch the end. Recognizable Legends were displayed to him on the screen as the camera focused on the action, only two squads left. One consisted of the aforementioned Mirage, Wraith, and Pathfinder. The other was Octane, Lifeline, and Bangalore. They were held up at the Epicentre on World's Edge, and both teams kited out well.

It wasn't long before they made contact with each other and a huge firefight broke out, shields broke, teammates went down. It looked like Bangalore was about to secure a win for her team, before Octane screamed and went down out of her sight. She seemed startled, looking up from her finisher on Mirage to see what had happened. Before she could react, there was the sound of a grappling hook and a shot gun, and the famous blue robot had downed her, winning the game for his team.

The bar shot up in an uproar. Some were cheering, others booing. It was a mixture of happy cries and angry cussing. The table where some gentlemen were placing bets was flipped and a small fight broke out. The lights flashed in the bar as the screen changed to show a panning shot of the winning team. A loud announcement went out of a synthetic female voice that shook the whole area, loud enough to drown out the noise of the crowds. “We have your Apex Champions!”

The cheering and hollering just got louder after that, and now a crowd started to form as they made their way to the bar to get celebratory drinks, and Krystal quickly reacted, grimacing as she passed Tucker. He was about to ask her if she saw who one, and what she thought of it, as he was pretty happy himself seeing Mirage being a part of the Champion Squad, but then he noticed her strained expression.

“Hey, what's wrong?” He asked.

“They do that every damn time-” She grumbled, starting to line off drinks on the counter and get the beer tap out. “Then everyone goes nuts and comes here for drinks... It's a bit much don't you think?”

“But the games are over! A champion won.” Tucker explained.

“I don't care.” Krystal shook her head. “I'm still not used to that, every Friday, around the same time, it's loud and obnoxious.”

“You really hate the games that much, huh?”

“It's a bloodspot, I don't see the appeal in killing innocent people for fun!” Krystal replied. “How is that even legal?”

“You realize they don't actually-”

“I'll talk later, the big shots are coming in.”

Krystal started to pull down special glasses as the back doors of the Lounge started to light up with bright lights and some warning signs telling people to back away. Security rushed in to corral the crowds and clear the read carpet that lead from the door to the bar. Everyone rushed to get as close as they could to the border to get a glimpse of the people who were about to come though the doors. Tucker too found himself standing up now at the bar to get a better look as he heard the hum of the drop ship stopping, and the loud noise of the air-locks releasing before the door opened with a small cloud of fog.

He almost couldn't contain himself and Krystal had to reach over the counter and pull him back before he just ended up walking right up to the Legends as they entered the area. The crowd again went wild and started to scream, calling for their names, pens and papers outstretched for autographs. Some people were already being thrown out for being overly excited. Krystal told him to just sit back on his stool and wait, he'd get his chance to see them in due time.

And she was right, one by one they walked in, never in order but she knew them all by face. She'd already have each Legend's drink ready for them and she'd address them by their names and hand it off to them. Gibraltar, Lifeline, Octane, Caustic- Tucker could name them all by their Legend names as they passed by. He found himself shaking slightly trying to contain himself as he just smiled and nodded at them as they took their drinks from Krystal and passed by him to head to the VIP section known as the “Legends Retreat”.

The crowd continued to call out, the Champion Squad was arriving. Krystal sighed and braced herself for this one because she knew who she had yet to serve. Tucker almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the familiar face of Mirage. He froze up and probably forgot how to live for a moment as Mirage, being a man of his fans, briefly noticed him and gave him a nod and a wink, before settling down in the stools next to him to address Krystal. Wraith filled in next to him as well.

Krystal already had their drinks ready for them, Wraith said thank you before Mirage decided to open his mouth.

“Heyyy! How's my star employee doing?” Mirage asked her, gladly accepting his drink.

“Alright.” Krystal replied to him, folding her arms in front of herself as she settled in for the conversation Mirage was starting up with her.

“So uh, get this alright, craziest thing happened but um, You're currently talking with the latest Apex Champion!” Mirage stated proudly, chucking a bit as he adjusted his hair.

“Am I now?” Krystal questioned, tilting her head to the side.

“Uhm, yeah.” Mirage looked back at her, disappointing she wasn't biting. “Well one of three champions anyway, am I right, Renee?” Mirage looked at Wraith who only glared back at him, clenching her drink as she took a sip. She didn't reply. Mirage laughed it off, a bit less confident sounding then before. “So like, these drinks are probably on the house then, right?”

Krystal rolled her eyes at him. “You own the house, Elliot.”

He laughed again at his own joke. “Right you're are! How's about a round for everyone then on the house! On me, the winner! Champion!” He turned around suddenly to raise his glass, pulling out his duplicates who also held glasses high and the fans that were watching with awe were riled up again.

Krystal sighed, going to grab a larger tray to put drinks on and readying the tap again. “Of course.” She wasn't exactly pleased with the stress that came with serving a full house, but she'd manage.

“Keep up the good work!” Mirage gave her finger guns and then took his drink and started to back away before the crowd got too much to get through at the bar. Wraith followed with him as they headed into the VIP section.

It took a good ten minutes to get through every one and get it all settled before Krystal collapsed back at the stool across from where Tucker was still frozen in place. She sighed and put her head down, and then when he didn't say anything she looked up at him again, waving her hands in front of him. She snapped once and he came to, shaking his head and blinking multiple times before looking at her in confusion.

“You good?” She asked him a bit concerned.

“...Mirage winked at me.” Tucker grinned wildly at him. “That was actually Mirage, he was sitting right next to me. I could of taken a lock of his hair if I wanted to... I mean that'd be weird, but he was that close to me! I can't believe it!”

“Ugh.” Krystal put her head back down again, she was just tired from the rush she had to slough through because of Mirage's 'generosity'.

“Oh uhm, are you okay?” Tucker took the hint, shyly side eying her.

“I'm fine, it's just a bit hectic sometimes.” Krystal replied.

“Will you be keeping the job then?” Tucker asked.

“Of course, why wouldn't I?” She sat back up straight again. “It's the best paying job I've had so far, still nothing fantastic but at least I can finally get out of debt, and pay off my loans and such. Maybe I'll finally move to a nicer apartment.”

“Well as long as you're sure you can handle it.” Tucker replied, then he turned in the seat to try and get a look into the entrance to the Legend's Retreat.

Krystal watched him do this for a moment or two before sighing again and taking something out of her uniform's apron. “Here.” She slid a key card with a Lanyard across the table to him.

“What's this?” He questioned, picking it up by the lanyard and examining it.

“Security clearance.” Krystal explained. “Just show it to the security team and you can go meet them all if you'd like?”

“REALLY?” Tucker lit up like a firework, then caught himself and coughed awkwardly. “I mean, can I do that? Is that allowed?”

“As long as you don't tell them I gave it to you.” Krystal replied. “They have a VIP pass so they're no strangers to signing autographs, just like, don't loose your shit okay. Be cool, and you should be fine... Don't harass them.”

Tucker looked back at the lanyard. He looked like he was going to reject the offer for a moment. He then suddenly gripped it tighter and shot up from his chair, smile widest it's ever been. “THANKSKRYSTALYOU'RETHEBEST.” And with that he was gone.

“I need that back remember!” She called after him but gave up, she hoped he had common sense enough not to lose it. If she lost her job because of him he wouldn't hear the end of it anyway, so he best know what's good for him.

Krystal sighed again and shifted as she got off her bar stool. She went over to the cash area and took out some papers from a drawer under it. It amazed her how annoyingly dated some processes were given today's technology. She was taking numbers off of a holoscreen and writing them on a physical piece of paper to be stored. She collected everything that needed to be filled out and the required papers and took a glance around the bar. Everyone seemed to have been given full drinks, the Legends were taken care of, and now things could start winding down again. She could go fill out these papers with the sales reports like she would do every other night.

She stopped to place a small bell on her counter so she could hear if a customer were to show up when she wasn't there. She locked the Till so it wouldn't be robbed and slid out from behind the counter, making her way towards the bathrooms and hallways that lead into the back of the Lounge. Krystal had been here long enough that she knew the layout of the building by now, she knew how many steps she had to take, the one turn that would come up before she could start counting before she got to the door- She started to look head at the paper work and see what she could fill out right away and gauge what would take a bit longer.

_Thunk!_

She dropped most of her papers as she suddenly stumbled back holding her forhead, a bit stunned and blinking as she processed what she just walked into. She was sure there wasn't a wall there, maybe she was too tired and forgot the layout or-

“Sorry, friend!”

Krystal stared up at the large robot that loomed over her. It took her a moment but she managed to identify him as some sort of MRVN unit, based on the structure and the type of screen he used for expressions. “Watch where you're going!” She stated, though some other thoughts were running through her head because now that she thought about it, there wasn't many MRVN units around the bar normally.

“Sorry!” He apologized again, continuing on. “You were clearly busy and didn't see me, it is my fault for not being more careful!”

“...Yeah.” She glared at him for a moment, before stooping down to start picking up her papers.

“Oh! I can help!” The bot also bent down at the same time she did-

_Thump._

“Ah, fuck!” Krystal held her head, the pair had knocked against each other in the attempt to pick up the papers.

“Sorry! I'm so sorry!” The bot raised his hands in front of himself in a gesture to show he didn't mean the assault. His screen displayed a sad crying emoji during this.

Krystal turned away from him slightly when she saw him reaching forward to check on her. “It's fine, I'm fine.” She said, then side eyed the MRVN again. “Wait, what are you even doing back here? No one's supposed to be back here except employees, and I know for a fact the Lounge doesn't employ MRVNs.”

“Oh it's okay, Mirage said I could come back here.” The bot replied, his screen switching to a smiley face now.

“Mirage?” She questioned only briefly before her conversation with Tucker reminded her. “Oh you mean Elliot... You know Elliot?”

“Yes!” The bot seemed to perk up at this acknowledgement. “He is my best friend!”

“...Elliot's friends with a MRVN?” She questioned.

“Mmm hmm, he's the one who got me into the Apex Games.”

Krystal stared back at this robot, completely complex by it's statements. “You watch the games?”

“Sometimes!” He replied. “It's fun to watch replays and see where I can improve!”

This wasn't normal behaviour for a MRVN, she took a quick glance around him, looking for something.

“...What are you doing?” He asked, shifting slightly as he watched her circle him.

“Where's your serial code?” She asked.

“...Why?” His screen displayed a question mark.

“I'm reporting you to Hammond Robotics for a malfunction.” Krystal responded, turning to look up at him again.

“...I'm malfunctioning?” The MRVN seemed confused by this statement, starting to look himself over now too. “No, I don't think so friend. Everything seems to be in working order.”

“What's your prime directories?”

He paused for a moment, staring back at her. “Well... I was currently on my way out the back door... But it's locked! I was going to ask Mirage if he-”

“What's outside there that would concern a MRVN?” Krystal questioned him. “Aight, come with me, I'll ask Elliot what's going on-” She took the bot by the wrist and started to drag him back out into the main area of the bar.

“Uhm, Friend, I'd rather not-”

The bot was cut off by the call of someone from across the bar. “Look! There he is!” A group of women and some men pointed at the MRVN and all started to stand up and make their way over towards him. “Pathfinder! Come spend time with your fans! We love you!”

“Ah!” The robot, now addressed as Pathfinder, let out a small gasp and pulled away from Krystal's grip with ease. His screen displayed an exclamation point as he quickly turned around and started to head back down the hall again.

“Who are the- HEY!” Krystal was going to question the people that knew him, but then noticed him slip away from her, and she chased him back through the hallways.

She rounded the corner and observed as the bot came to the dead end and locked doors, frantically looking around the area for another exit. “Out, need to get out.”

A odd feeling set in as Krystal saw the bot panic and heard the approaching of the supposed fans rounding the corner. Suddenly she felt the need to help this MRVN, and ask questions later. “Quick, in here-” Krystal ran up to the robot, latching onto him and yanking as she pushed open one of the side doors and dragged him into it.

The door slammed shut behind them, and Krystal pressed her ear to it as she listened to the shuffling outside of it.

“Wait, where did he go?”

“He couldn't of gone far, maybe he left out the back door?”

“It's locked?”

“The bathrooms?”

“He's a robot!”

“Well he couldn't just disappear.”

“Maybe it loops back out to the bar, c'mon lets go check.”

And slowly the group shuffled away again and it was finally safe.

“...Thank you.” Pathfinder looked back down at Krystal as he realized she had aided him in avoiding the group of people looking for him.

“...Don't mention it.” Krystal took a moment before backing up away from him so she didn't have to strain so much to meet his eye contact. “But clearly some things are not registering for me here... Mind if I ask a few questions?”

“Ask away, friend!” He smiled at her with his screen.

“...Who are you?”

The bot's screen lit up with an exclamation point. “Oh right! We haven't been properly introduced yet, friend! How rude of me.” He then shifted to offer her a hand shake. “I'm Pathfinder, it's nice to meet you!” The screen switched back to a bright smiley emoji once more.

Krystal looked down at his hand, hesitant to take it. “Pathfi-” The name suddenly clicked for her. “You're the other Legend Elliot talks about sometimes?” She stared back up at his optic, head titled questionably to the side.

“Elliot talks about me?” He seemingly mimicked her body language as he replied. “Great! I talk about him all the time, too!”

Krystal continued to stare back at him, a hand now finding its way to her mouth as she furrowed her brows, turning away and breaking eye contact suddenly. “Hmm.”

“...Is there something wrong?” Pathfinder asked, his screen changing to a question mark.

“I just... Wasn't expecting a MRVN unit to be a Legend.” Krystal stated then caught herself. “Oh! Not that there's anything wrong with that, It's just, unusual...”

“It's okay. I get that a lot.” Pathfinder replied. “Do you have a name, by the way?”

“Ah! Right!” Krystal stumbled a bit realizing she was being rude now and didn't bother to introduce herself. “My name's Krystal.”

“Krystal?” Pathfinder repeated the name back to her, then continued to ask her questions. “Of what kind? Quartz perhaps?”

“W-what?” She questioned him, not quite following what he was talking about.

“No, that's too common... Diamond? Nope, you're classier than that-”

Krystal shook her head, trying not to laugh. “No, it's not that kind of Crystal, you spell it with a K.”

“Ohh...” Pathfinder looked back at her, nodding in agreement. “Tanzanite!” He suddenly exclaimed.

She finally let out her laughter, sighing contently. “I've never even heard of that one before.”

“It's very pretty!” Pathfinder explained. “Comes in blue or purple, or both!”

“Interesting!” Krystal replied and started to push past him now and walked towards a small desk on the opposite side of the room.

Pathfinder watched as she did so, curious about the paper work she placed on it and the quick scribbles she'd sign on it. Eventually she'd turn back to him again.

“So what was all of that about?” She asked him, talking about the hoard of people looking for him.

“Oh... Those were my fans.”

“Your fans?”

“Yeah, normally they're not a problem and I don't mind taking with them but...” He paused for a moment. “Sometimes they get too... Excited. I've won three times in a row now, and they're really happy about it!”

She chuckled. “Sounds like you're not a fan of your own fans, huh?”

“Only sometimes...” Pathfinder said. “It can be... Suffocating. And I don't even need to breathe!”

“Funny.” She replied, taking another moment to look over the papers she had and then filing them away.

“You're not like other MRVNs, are you?”

Pathfinder looked back to her, taking his attention from the small knickknacks that laid around the room. “What do you mean?”

“Well, forgive me for speaking out of line, but MRVN's are normally used as service bots...” Krystal explained, standing up again to face him properly. “What's one like you doing playing in the games?”

“I just decided to join after Mirage told me about it.” Pathfinder replied, shifting in his spot. “It sounded like fun! And it is fun!” He looked away slightly now as he spoke. “I also was hoping it would aid me in finding my creator.”

She picked up on this information, raising a brow at him. “Your creator? You mean the person who entered you in the games?”

“I put myself in the games.” Pathfinder clarified. “I mean, it was a struggle at first to convince them to let me in, but I did get in eventually...” He continued on. “But the games are viewed by millions of people! I was hoping one of those people would be my creator and he would come find me.”

Krystal frowned. “Was there a certain scientist that worked on you?” She asked.

“What do you mean?”

“It's just... Well MRVN bots are normally produced in mass under Hammond Robotics.” Krystal replied. “I have a friend who works for them, so it's easy to answer who created you... Unless of course, you're a pet project by another employee.”

“Oh, I know about Hammond Robotics.” Pathfinder said. “I tried to ask them questions but they are very efficient in avoiding me. I can only assume that means that they don't know who made me either!”

“That's... Interesting.” Krystal stated, reaching for a nearby rack that hung over the desk with various keys attached to it. “So you don't know who made you?”

“Nope!” Pathfinder replied a bit too cheerfully for Krystal's liking. “I just, y'know, woke up. Alone. Cold. Dark...” His tone did waver for a moment before going back to its usual cheerfulness. “But that's why I'm looking for my creator! I want to reunite with them and find out what my purpose is!”

“That's.... kind of sad actually.” Krystal commented as she took one of the keys and headed back to the door of the room. “Almost like a kid being orphaned.”

He tilted his head at her again. “I didn't mean for it to be sad. Also, I would have to have a family to have been orphaned by. Which I don't. Or maybe I do, I don't know yet, that's the thing!”

Krystal took a moment to look him over again, then shook her head sighing. “That's not what- Never mind.” She moved on from the subject, opening the door and walking out, having Pathfinder follow behind her.

“So, what now?” Pathfinder asked her, watching as she lead him towards the locked back door again.

“I assume your fans are probably still waiting for you out in the bar, huh?” Krystal asked him.

He processed it for a moment before responding. “...They most likely are. That is a good observation.”

She tossed him the key she took from the previous room. “Here.”

He scrambled to catch it, juggling it between his two hands nearly dropping it before he finally had a grip on it. He looked back at Krystal, question mark on his screen once more.

“It'll probably be a bad idea for you to go back out there then, huh?” She spoke to him, looking back out down the hallway towards the noise that resonated from the bar. “If you're still wanting to avoid them, then that's the key for the back door there.”

“Oh.” Pathfinder looked down at the key in his hand, looking up again and at the door nearby. “Thank you.”

“Don't mention it.” She waved him off, turning to start walking back down the hallway.

“Uhm-” Pathfinder reached out slightly with an outstretched hand towards her, before pulling it back again when she turned to question him.

“...Yeah?” She paused, tilting her head questionably towards him, wondering if he needed anything else before she left.

“Are you... Here often?” He asked, he seemed like he wasn't exactly sure what wording to use.

“What do you mean?” She laughed again, putting a hand on her hip with a smile. “I work here.”

“Ah!” He had an exclamation point again for a brief moment. “Of course you do! Dumb question.” The later half was uttered a bit lower, as if under synthetic breath. “I-I'll be see you then, friend!”

“Sure thing.” Krystal replied, and waved back when he waved at her, before watching him turn to unlock the door and leave.

She stood for another moment or so, staring back at the now closed door and processing everything.

When she did finally decide to head back to her position at the bar, she found a few impatient customers waiting for her, and Tucker, slumped over at the counter with his head in his hands.

“Hey?” She questioned him as she walked by to quickly top up the drinks of the customers. “You good?”

“Vodka.” Tucker demanded, holding out an empty glass. “Straight, leave the bottle.”

“Uhm, no.” Krystal replied, settling on the other side of the bar counter. and folding her hands in front of herself. “What happened? I thought you were enjoying yourself with the Legends?”

“I WAS.” Tucker cried. “Then I ask a few more questions than I probably should have and too many autographs and photos and then suddenly the bouncer's asking for my ID!” He pouted, folding his arms in front of himself, looking back at Krystal. “I bet it was Caustic that ratted me out, he really is as mean as they say.”

“Man that sucks.” Krystal replied, trying to force sympathy. “Sorry buddy, maybe next time.”

“I think they've got a scan of my face.” Tucker stated, shifting a bit. “There won't be a next time Krystal, I had to prove I had enough money for drinks to keep them from tossing me out of the bar completely!”

“...What about the ID I gave you?” She questioned.

“Confiscated.”

“Fantastic.” Krystal rolled her eyes, more concerned about that than actually caring about Tucker's shattered celebrity dreams.

“...I'm sorry.” Tucker responded, catching on to her tone.

She sighed. “It's okay, I'll explain to Elliot later what happened.” Krystal replied. “I am his _star employee_ after all. He'll understand.”

“Man at least you get to talk to him, I barely got close to him before the bouncer picked me up.” He paused for a moment. “For the record no one saw that right? Like, your security footage and stuff, no one knows I can be lifted like a puppy by the scruff of my neck right?”

Krystal rolled her eyes again, going to collect up some dirty glasses. “Sure, buddy.”

“Hey, where did you wander off to anyway?” Tucker question her, turning around in the bar stool to keep a conversation as he watched her cross the area to a table and clean it off before coming back to reply to him.

“I had to do the paperwork for the sales tonight.” Krystal stated. “Just went out back for a moment.”

“You were gone an awfully long time.” Tucker pointed out. “I was going to get you to vouch for me when they started to kick me out, and you weren't there!”

“Well, I did have a run in with... Something.”

“Something?”

“Or someone, I guess?”

“Who?”

She took a moment, laying down the tray of dishes and turning back to look at him. “Did you know they let MRVN units fight in the Apex Games?”

Tucker blinked at her. “...You mean Pathfinder?”

“So he claims to be.”

Tucker suddenly pushed himself up, leaning on the counter. “Dude! You met Pathfinder!?”

“Calm down, it wasn't that great. Dumbass ran into me and scattered my paperwork.” Krystal responded, motioning for Tucker to sit back down in his seat again. “Apparently he was looking for the exit.”

“Makes sense I guess, he can't drink so no reason for him to stick around.” Tucker shrugged. “So what did you think of him? Pretty neat huh?”

“He's... Interesting.” Krystal responded, grabbing a wet cloth to rinse out some of the glasses while she continued the conversation.

“He's weird!” Tucker stated. “But like in a cool way, he's not normal.”

Krystal side eyed Tucker. “Seemed pretty normal to me.”

“No, but like, he's not Normal for a MRVN unit.” Tucker explained. “They don't... Act, like he does! He's a technological anomaly!”

“He's just looking for his creator.” Krystal stated. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“I read about him, outside of the games. HR has tabs on him, obviously.” Tucker continued on. “No one knows who worked on him, and there's no traces of his coding anywhere in Hammond's Systems. But he's clearly a MRVN unit so they had to have built him right? Well one would think anyway. But no traces! Nothing! Either that or no one who knows wants to speak up about it.” Tucker paused. “I mean, I don't blame em, I wouldn't want HR breathing down my back for a fuck up like that happening either.”

“I think you're being a bit harsh, I wouldn't consider him a “Fuck up”.” Krystal stated. “From what I witnessed he's functioning fine... Not intended, sure, but he's doing alright in the games it seems. Enough to amass a following.”

“Yeah that's the thing, Hammond Robotics really hate the fact he's in the games and that's why they won't touch him with a ten foot pole.” Tucker kept going. “Before he got tangled up in the games, they did have a few attempts to retrieve him and re-purpose him, but they didn't quite manage to collect him up before Mirage told him about the games.”

“That's awful!” Krystal frowned at him. “So, they were just going to scrap him or something because he didn't function like a normal MRVN?”

“That's what HR does, if it doesn't work, they scrap it and try again.”

“I'm glad he's in the games now, he seems nice enough, he certainly doesn't deserve that.”

Tucker raised a brow at her. “Krystal he's a MRVN.” Tucker said. “Sure I can respect him as a Legend, but from a work standpoint, he's defective.”

“I don't agree.” Krystal replied, turning away from Tucker now. “I wouldn't call him defective... He's just... Different.”

“Different?” Tucker question.

“Different.” Krystal replied, turning back to look at Tucker again. “Anyway, it doesn't matter what you or I think about him. It was just a one time encounter that I experienced with him.” She paused. “It was like the other Legends, I really don't care if he's famous, or a MRVN, or whatever. I just did my job and that's that.”

“Fair enough.” Tucker sighed pulling back, watching how quickly Krystal served the next customer that stepped up to the counter. “...I know you don't care about the actual games but...”

“What's on your mind?”

“Did you know they have a VR version you can play at home?”


	2. Chapter 2

The weekend came and went as it normally did, save for the introduction to a new VR game. Krystal spent more time than she'd like to admit learning how to play it with Tucker, and by Sunday night she was finally able to score points in it, even if they were very few and far between.

There wasn't much else to make note of for the rest of the week either. She'd wake up, go to work, and tend the bar as she normally did. In some ways she preferred the weekdays because it almost made her job seem normal at times. It was considerably less busy, meaning less stress for Krystal to endure, and dare she say that she might actually _like_ her job while working the weekdays like this.

Friday was the only day she actually hated to work, and she'd always fight with herself on thinking about calling in sick, or straight up quitting when it really got hard to handle. But yet, she never followed through with these thoughts, and again she found herself, preparing and bracing for the influx of customers and added stress once the Apex Games went live again today. At least she had some company this time. Since the last night she invited him, Tucker had decided he quite liked spending time with his friend like this, and the Paradise Lounge was a great place to be.

That, and the fact he was still a complete fanboy and loved using Krystal as an excuse to get closer to his favourite Legends.

“It felt like it was a lot more packed in here last week.” Tucker stated as he sipped from his drink and addressed Krystal from across the bar.

“Now that you mention it, yeah it does feel a little less lively.” Krystal responded, she agreed that the bar didn't seem too excited this time around compared to how it normally was. “I hope that means tonight will go smoothly, and I can close sooner and we can get home and play more.”

Tucker smirked at her, leaning on his hand. “Y'know for someone who doesn't care about the Apex Games, you sure care about _the Game._ ”

Krystal shot him back an unamused look. “That's different.” She replied, taking the towel she was using to buss the counter down with and flinging it over her left shoulder. “The Game's a game and actually fun to play with friends. It's not like I'm actually fighting tooth and nail for my life.”

“No, but it's a simulation of that.” Tucker responded.

“It's still not the same.” Krystal huffed. “I still couldn't care less for the actual Apex Games. I have no interest in _real_ people killing each other.”

“I dunno man, I think it's pretty fun.” Tucker started letting his gaze drift towards the TV screens that were displaying the starting of the day's match. “I think I'd enjoy it.”

“Seriously?” Krystal cocked a brow at him in question. “You want to kill people?”

“I mean it'd be a lot better than my current job.” Tucker frowned looking back at her. “HR doesn't really care about me or my ideas... But maybe if I could get into the Apex Games...”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I just... Have a few concepts I'm working on.” Tucker replied. “Nothing concrete yet, but a concept.... A few prototypes.”

“...What kind of prototypes?” Krystal leaned in towards him, lowering her tone assuming it was something he'd want to keep confidential.

Tucker quickly looked around himself before leaning in too and telling her. “Nanobots.”

Krystal pulled back, taking a moment before replying. “You've made nanobots?”

“A concept for them.” Tucker replied. “When I have more I'll show you what they can do.”

“And Hammond Robotics approved of that?” She asked.

Tucker looked away now, shifting awkwardly in his stool. “Not... Exactly.”

“So you're working on this out of pocket?” She side eyed him.

“...Yeah?”

“And you're expecting they're going to fund you once you have something that works?”

“...Yes?”

“...Good luck with that.”

Krystal pulled away from the counter again, going to set up a few glasses so they would be ready for her when she needed them.

Tucker watched her move away and frowned again. “I bet it could work!” He called out to her, but sighed again figuring that maybe she was right. He'd worry about it later though.

“Anyway.” Krystal came back to him with a fresh drink, she was really good at staying on top of keeping customers topped up. “I think I might know why it's a bit dead here.”

“Oh?” Tucker tilted his head at her. “What's your theory?”

“Well that VR game you said is based on the actual games, right?”

“It is, though its a bit behind.” Tucker confirmed. “What about it though?”

“So y'know the new map we got and we're all hating it.”

“World's Edge?”

“Yeah, well I heard from Elliot they already changed locations a few months ago.” Krystal explained. “Did you know World's Edge is real?”

Tucker laughed at her. “Well no shit, It's a place called New Dawn, ain't it?”

“Was.” Krystal said. “Also, hey listen you're lucky I even play the game I didn't realize how accurate they made it.”

“Anyway, what are you trying to say?”

“Basically, people are already annoyed with New Dawn like we are becoming in game with World's Edge.” Krystal finished. “Probably didn't want to waste money to see a match they don't care for.”

Tucker shrugged, taking his drink. “Makes sense I guess.”

“I think it's kinda weird though.”

“What do you mean?” Tucker asked.

“Since you showed me the VR game, the similarities to that and real life.” Krystal stated, taking a moment to serve a small group of customers who came to her for a round before continuing. “If my theory is right, then I'm going to be completely freaked out by it.”

“Just try not to think too much about it?” Tucker suggested. “I don't know, Kay, things like that don't really bother me the way they bother you.”

“You don't find it weird that you were basically standing in the same area as the Legends you're playing as?” She asked him.

“No?” He blinked at her. “You didn't seem to mind much when you messing around as Pathfinder.”

“Okay but that's the thing.” She laid down her hands on the counter to face him. “Like I ran into the guy last week, sure, but then this game... How accurate do you think it is to the source material?” She took a moment before continuing. “It's real weird, like I actually spoke with him, but then playing as him in game, I feel like I know him even more now. Probably knew more things than I would of from just chatting to him.”

Tucker sighed, leaning back. “You're really, really looking into this too much.” Tucker then laughed. “Funny thing is, you'll say all this then you'll go home, and continue to play the game and not care.” He looked at her. “At least that's what a sane person would do.”

“Alright, I may be overthinking things but I'm completely sane.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Tucker grinned, he was of course, joking.

The pair were startled suddenly as the lights and celebrations went off in the bar unexpectedly. A loud voice that was normal to Krystal but new to Tucker rang through the speakers;

“We have our Apex Champions!”

“What!?” Tucker looked up shocked as he caught the ending pose with the winning squad appear on the TV Screens. It was Wattson, Octane, and Lifeline. “I missed it!?”

“Shit!” Krystal looked panicked for a moment, as she wasn't expecting the match to end so quickly. “That didn't last no time! How quick was that?”

“It happens.” Tucker grumbled, annoyed he didn't see the final fight and will have to wait for the re-run to come out tomorrow. “Uh-oh.”

Tucker watched as the bar got swarmed from the riled up crowd. He was suddenly thankful that there were less people here today as they seemed even more excited than the crowd that was here last week. They surrounded Krystal instantly running her off her feet as she tried to please all of them, pushing through the annoying customers. One guy was really giving her a hard time though, and Tucker was tempted to say a thing or two to him, before he took the hint and left the bar, allowing Krystal to continue her job in serving everyone. Rounds of drinks flew from the counter, and one could see in this moment why Mirage deemed her his star employee. It was almost like she worked best under pressure.

Bouncers finally stepped forward to aid in some crowd control as they worked quickly to push the guests to the side lines and made way from the drop ship landing zone that soon would open to let the Legends into the room. The noise of the ship outside was loud and shook the walls as it normally did as it opened it's hatch and the building doors opened, allowing the Legends to enter.

One by one they took some time to greet fans, sign autographs, pose for pictures, and then they would approach the bar where Krystal would be already waiting for them with their drinks at the ready. She'd name them all as she handed off the drinks, completely used to the routine by now.

Dr, Nox, no thanks just a grunt. Gibraltar, a kind thank you and hearty smile. Renee, maybe she said thank you but it was hard to hear. Elliot followed up, he lingered a bit longer than he needed telling some bad jokes and checking in with Krystal before continuing on. Bloth, silent per-usual, oh and couldn't forget the raven that followed them. Anita, she said thank you. Crypto, he was newer, but she finally got his drink down, which seemed to please him.

After them, came the champion squad. They took a bit longer to get to the bar, as normal, and it always perplexed Krystal why people were so worked up over getting to meet them over the rest of the Legends, especially when some of the other ones that passed by were ones who won last week. Either way, she had their drinks ready too.

Ajay, it was always nice to serve her, she'd leave a big thank you and a wide smile. Sometimes she'd let Krystal know she was doing good when it seemed like a particularly stressful day. Then there was Octavio, he was quick to grab his drink, spilling it carelessly so she always gave him a bigger glass and filled it a little less, but still he made a mess. He'd apologize and say thank you all in the same breath and head off. Then came Natalie, she was sweet enough and modest, collecting her drink and thanking as well before she left. And finally Pathfinder-

  
Wait, _Pathfinder_?

“Hello again, friend!”

“Ah!” Krystal stumbled back a bit as she almost spilled the generic glass of beer she was about to serve up due to motor instincts kicking in. She took a moment to breath, gripping her chest and looking back at the bot's red optic.

“Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you.” Pathfinder pulled back slightly, staring back at her.

“N-No, no... It's fine.” Krystal sighed relaxing a bit again. “I just uh, wasn't expecting you.” She took the towel from off her shoulder and started to mop up the spilled alcohol from the counter.

“Really?” Pathfinder questioned, his screen switching from his smiley to a question mark display. “But I told you that I'll be seeing you again.”

“Uh?” Krystal looked at him, a bit confused by what he meant.

He took a moment. “When we last spoke?”

“Oh! Right, uhm, right.” Krystal nodded, vaguely recalling the conversation they had last week when they first met. “You uh, actually followed up on that?” She seemed a little bit surprised by the statement, it was abnormal for people to actually mean what they said in a situation like that.

“Of course!” Pathfinder replied cheerfully, his screen switching back to normal again. “I wouldn't tell you something I was going to do if I wasn't going to do it!”

“...Makes sense...?” She partly agreed with him, still confused, but agreeing seemed like the right response here. “You're not, ah, concerned about what happened last time? With your fans?”

“Nope!” He replied, helping himself to the empty stool nearby and sitting at the counter. “I lost this time, so they were really disappointed in me!”

“And that's a good thing?”

“It allows me a chance to hypothetically breathe for once!”

“Oh, of course...” Krystal cast her gaze aside briefly, collecting her thoughts and trying to realign them again from the mild confusion Pathfinder caused.

“Well, this is unusual.” A familiar voice stated and took their attention as they both looked to the left to see Elliot approaching them. “What are you doing hanging at the bar, don't you usually skip the whole drinking bit on account of the fact you can't well... Drink?” He was addressing Pathfinder.

“Oh! Mirage! Have you met my new friend?” Pathfinder beamed as he motioned towards Krystal across the counter from him. “Her name's Krystal, she's a Tanzanite.” The last bit was tacked on as if it were actual facts.

Krystal flushed a bit from embarrassment because obviously they knew each other. “Pathfinder, he's my boss.” Krystal side eyed the robot. “I told you I work here and he owns the place.”

Elliot simply laughed it off, sliding into the other stool next to Pathfinder and looking at Krystal. “Oh yeah, I do believe we've met at some point.” He grinned widely at her as he played up this bad joke. “Don't mind him, he's like that sometimes.” He spoke directly to her now in regards to Pathfinder.

“It's... Okay. I guess.” Krystal responded.

Elliot readjusted himself to lean against the bar and looked back at the MRVN unit. “Again, I ask, what're you doing here?” He paused briefly, then continued. “You can't drink, so since when have you two been friends?”

Krystal was about to explain but Pathfinder eagerly spoke over her. “Oh we met last week!”

“ _Really_?” Elliot responded with enthusiasm.

“He bumped into me, actually.” Krystal finally spoke up. “I uhm, helped him slip out the back door.”

“Ah.” Elliot nodded. “So that's why that was unlocked last week.”

“Krystal is very good at hiding.” Pathfinder stated. “I'm thankful she helped me when I needed it.”

“It was nothing, really.” Krystal replied. “I would of done it for anyone in need.”

“That's what makes you such a good employee!” Elliot smiled at her. “Well my curiosity is sed-sada-I got my questions answered. I'll let you two get back to making small talk or whatever.” He took his drink and turned to leave. “You should stay around more often Path, its nice to have you here with the group instead of you just heading out on your own after a match.”

“...Perhaps I'll consider it.” Pathfinder replied waving Mirage off as they watched him leave and head into the Legend's retreat.

“Wait, you don't just head into the retreat?” Krystal turned to Pathfinder, questionably. “I know you don't drink but I always assumed that's where you hung out and that's why I didn't see you... I didn't realize it was because you just leave.”

“Well...” Pathfinder shifted a bit as he prepared himself to explain. “I guess I just, feel a bit left out with all my other friends when they come here and drink after a match... Some of them drink a bit more than they should and they act different and I'm not really sure how to respond to that... And since I can't drink myself it just makes more sense to go find some fun else where while I'm waiting for the next match.”

“Oh. I never thought about it that way I guess...” She replied. “But Elliot said he likes to have you around, so I'm sure your friends won't mind and will try to include you?”

“...They didn't last time.” Pathfinder responded after hesitating for a moment. “I just don't want to take away from their fun, it's nothing to worry about! I'm content exploring the city and making even more friends!”

“Well, if that's what you like to do then good for you.” Krystal smiled softly at him, then took another moment to deal with a customer looking for a refill.

She then returned to him, deciding to change the subject since she realized he seemed to want to talk to her. “Did you make any progress in finding your creator?”

This caused a reaction in the robot as his screen displayed an exclamation point for a moment as he stiffened up in his seat. “Ah-” He then quickly replied, relaxing again. “No.”

“No?” Krystal frowned slightly at the news. “Nothing at all?”

“It's a slow progress.” He replied. “I'm sure I'll connect with them eventually.”

“That's too bad.” She stated, but then suddenly flinched as she too remembered something. “Oh! Hold on a minute!”

Krystal left the bar for a second and pushed through the slight crowd as she located Tucker and dragged him back towards the bar. He had been swept up in the crowd when the Legends entered in and was trying to get back into the Lounge again, well he was before Krystal pulled him back.

“What the hell dude, I had a chance to sneak in with that last group they let in!?” Tucker scowled at Krystal as he pried himself away from her.

“I want your help with something.” Krystal stated, motioning towards Pathfinder.

“What's with the MRVN-” Tucker froze mid sentence as he watched Pathfinder raise a hand to wave at him. “Oh! OH MY GOD.” He looked back at Krystal for a moment before rushing up to Pathfinder. “H-HI.”

Pathfinder recoiled slightly at the sudden approach, then sheepishly replied to Tucker. “Hello.”

Krystal rolled her eyes and took Tucker from behind by his shoulders, pulling him away from Pathfinder's personal bubble and forcing him down into the stool next to him. She then kept one hand on his right Shoulder as she walked to stand between the two of them facing inward. “Tucker, this is Pathfinder. Pathfinder, Tucker.”

“HI-” Tucker then shook his head, reeling himself back in. “I-I mean, hello. Sorry about that, I get easily excited. You're... You're a Legend. Hahaha, Hello. It's nice to meet you... Hi.”

Pathfinder let out a short synthetic chuckle. “It's nice to meet you too, and it's okay, I'm used to people being excited around me.” He paused for a moment. “Sometimes I can get really excited too, so don't worry!”

“Oh! That's cool!” Tucker replied, then took a deep breath. “So uhm, what's up?”

“Krystal here asked me to wait a moment, and then she brought you to me.” Pathfinder summed up.

Tucker looked back at Krystal. “Ah.” He then waited for Krystal to explain to him what was going on.

“Tucker, you work for Hammond Robotics right?” Krystal stated, already knowing this but using it to clarify for Pathfinder's sake.

“Uhm... Yeah? What about it?” Tucker asked her.

“Well, Pathfinder here's a MRVN, and since you work with Hammond Robotics I was wonder if maybe you could help him find his creator?” Krystal replied with a small smile, hoping Tucker would be willing to help out.

“You can help me find my creator???” Pathfinder leaned forward on his stool a bit, looking back at Tucker excitedly.

“What!” Tucker recoiled, glaring at Krystal. “I-I mean yeah there's a few files on him b-but.”

“It's not that hard, Tuck, like I'm sure you have some contacts you can give him to talk to, right?” Krystal side eyed him curiously. “I'm just trying to help him out.”

“Why???” Tucker continued to question her, motioning offhandedly to Pathfinder as he spoke. “Didn't you retain anything from the last conversation where we talked about him? I told you HR deemed him defec-” Tucker stopped, looking over at the bot for a moment who was still eagerly staring him down with his red gaze. “...Classified.”

“Classified. That must mean I'm really important!” Pathfinder commented.

“More than you know, buddy.” Tucker said under his breath. “Krystal, a moment?” He got up from the stool, pulling her away from the bot, hopefully far enough they couldn't be overheard.

“What the hell man?” Tucker spoke to her as he watched her expression change to one of annoyance. “What are you doing going telling someone like him that I know things!?”

“It's true, is it not? You have access to his files.”

“Yes but I'm not supposed to talk about them!” Tucker scolded her. “Besides I already told you no one knows who made him.”

“Yeah, but like the other files on him can probably help with that?” Krystal questioned, folding her arms. “Look, he's just like, wanting to know his purpose, he told me so last time we spoke.”

“And you care why?”

She paused for a moment, looking back at the bot, and noticing how he oddly just sat patiently, waiting for the pair to return to him. “I don't know.” She stated then turned back to Tucker again. “I guess I feel bad for him.”

“You barely know him!” Tucker exclaimed.

“LOOK, friendly robot comes looking for help, I know of someone who can help him, therefore, I want to help!” Krystal shot back, making a few wild hand gestures as she spoke. “I'm sorry for just wanting to be a good person. He insists on talking to me so what the fuck else am I supposed to talk about!?”

“Not the fucking classified files I told you not to talk about!” Tucker replied, then sighed. “Look, I mean it, he's defective and no one wants anything to do with him back at HQ. I've skimmed the files out of curiosity, and it's not much. They just don't want to associate with him because he's rogue.”

“Rogue?” Krystal scoffed. “You call that going rogue.” She jerked her hand to point behind her shoulder at the bot.

Tucker looked past her and witnessed Pathfinder casually waving back at him. He squinted and looked back at Krystal. “Technically speaking, yes.” Tucker explained. “If he's not following programming, he's gone rogue.”

“Alright, sure. Whatever.” She rolled her eyes.

Tucker sighed again. “What the hell do I say now? He thinks I can help him.”

“Well CAN you?” Krystal looked back at Tucker expectantly.

He took a moment to reply, casting his gaze aside. “...I'm not supposed to.”

“But you can.”

“...I can.” Tucker looked back with a disgruntled expression as he took his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright, maybe I can look into it. See if there's anything worth following up with at all.”

Krystal smiled at him. “Great!” She put her arm around him and pulled him back to Pathfinder. “Good news, Tucker can help you find your creator!”

“Hey now I didn't promise anything concrete!” Tucker shoved her off of himself as he looked back at Pathfinder now too. “I just, I know some people I can talk to and maybe I can give you some help.”

“Really!?” Pathfinder's screen changed to an exclamation point.

“Yeah.” Tucker replied, looking away again. “It'll take some time though, so don't get too excited just yet.”

“That's okay!” Pathfinder replied. “I'm good at waiting, I've waited this long for a lead, I can wait even longer.”

Both Tucker and Krystal picked up on that, kind of exchanging a sympathetic look with each other.

“Well, I'm glad that's settled!” Krystal replied, heading back around to the inside of the bar again.

“Good, great, fantastic.” Tucker replied, turning away now. “It was nice meeting you and all, but I uh, I'm gonna go and-”

Krystal rolled her eyes again, aware that Tucker was dying to try and get into the lounge again. “Go talk to the bouncer by the front door. His name is Melvin, tell him I sent you over. He'll get you in.”

“God I love you sometimes.” Tucker grinned widely, then quickly waved Pathfinder off as he went to go track down Melvin and do as Krystal told him.

Krystal chuckled and turned around herself to pour up a few more glasses and hand them off to some customers that came looking for them.

Pathfinder watched her for a moment processing everything before speaking up again once she had no one to serve. “Are you and Tucker good friends?”

The question came unexpected, but it wasn't unusual. “Yeah, I suppose we are.” Krystal replied as she spoke over her shoulder while washing a few glasses out. “I mean, he's the only guy I'll hang around with, we get along great.”

“Interesting.” The bot responded, turning his head now to observe some of the other people who were littered around the bar. “How'd you meet?”

Krystal paused for a moment, turning back to speak face to face with Pathfinder. “It might seem a bit odd, but we met over VR actually.”

“Virtual Reality?” He questioned.

“Yeah. There's a application that lets you like build an avatar and such and hang out. I met him there and then we started playing games.” Krystal replied. “And then I guess it just went from there. I'm surprised I got to know him actually, I'm usually really nervous with strangers on things like that, but he's proven to be alright.”

“Sounds like fun.” Pathfinder commented. “I'm glad you two have become such good friends.”

“Yeah, me too.” Krystal smiled contently as she caught Tucker getting into the Lounge out of the corner of her eye, she could see the joy plastered all over his face.

“Do you play other games?” Pathfinder continued the conversation, his screen holding a question mark throughout it.

“I do.” Krystal confirmed, then looked him over. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh! No reason, I just wanted to get to know you better, friend!” His screen defaulted back to his smilely. “I play games sometimes too! Not VR though, the home experience isn't exactly compatible with me.”

She paused for a moment, tilting her head curiously. “Can't you just... Plug yourself in?”

Pathfinder leaned back a bit in his seat, looking back at her. “Oh no! I couldn't! I mean I could, but it doesn't work like that! Well, it does but-” He took a moment to try and figure out how to explain this in a manner Krystal would understand. “I wouldn't want my code to integrate with something it shouldn't. That could be problematic.”

“Oh! Right!” Krystal bit her tongue in self annoyance as she lowered her head. “Sorry, was that a rude thing to ask?”

“No, you're fine.” Pathfinder replied. “It's okay, I know humans don't completely understand how robots function, even though you've created us!”

“I mean you have me there, I can barely figure out my microwave sometimes, I wouldn't have a clue how you operate.” Krystal stated, shifting slightly in her spot. “Well you said you play games, do you do anything else?”

“I do!” Pathfinder responded happily. “I do lots of things! This week I learned how to tap dance, I saw some people on TV do it. If the Games don't work out I can maybe try to get into the professional league.”

“O-oh! That's... Interesting.” Krystal smiled awkwardly, she was not expecting that response.

“Next week I am going to try to learn how to fish.” Pathfinder continued. “The cable box broke and all I had to watch was the outdoor sports channel.”

Krystal forced out a laugh. “Sounds cool... I'm sure you'll be great at it.”

“I hope so!” He paused. “Maybe I can wrestle a crocodile like the people on TV do while fishing.”

“Oh, its one of _those_ shows.” Krystal mumbled to herself.

“Hm?” The bot looked back at her.

“Oh nothing!”

After this Krystal got hit with another wave of customers that took her attention away for a bit. She was thankful for it as she felt the conversation between her and Pathfinder was starting to die off and she didn't know how to continue it.

“Do you watch the games, by chance?” He attempted to talk to her again as she passed by him to hand a drink off to someone.

“No.” She simply replied, it was an easy question to respond to. He wasn't the first one to ask her about it, and he wouldn't be the last.

“How come?” This seemed to really surprise the bot as he turned in the stool to follow her as she walked back and forth across the length of the bar.

“It's not really something I'm interested in.”

“But everyone watches the games.” Pathfinder stated. “Your friend Tucker watches the games.”

“Yes. I know.” Krystal said bluntly as she stopped for a moment to look at Pathfinder. “I just don't care for them personally.”

He couldn't seem to process her response. “But why?”

“Just because.” Krystal shrugged.

“Anyone who's anyone watches the games though, or plays in them.” Pathfinder spoke up, leaning in over the counter a bit now as he addressed her. “Why don't you?”

“I just don't like it, okay?” She shot back to him, already getting annoyed with the questions. “I don't find a blood sport like that fun.”

He hesitated for a moment before responding again. “... _but why_?”

Krystal furrowed her brow at him, stopping and letting a glass slam against the counter as she faced him. “I. Just. Don't. That's why. That's my reasoning. I don't need anything more than that.” She huffed. “I have better things to do with my life and time than to sit down and watch a bunch of psychopaths kill each other on live TV for the entertainment of others.”

Pathfinder pulled back a bit, sitting back down. He remained quiet for another moment, allowing Krystal to continue with serving her customers. He did slightly raise his gaze to her for a moment, speaking up; “But it's not-”

“I don't care!” She sighed, turning her back from him. “I don't watch the games!”

Pathfinder lowered his head again, fixating on a particular cracked tile on the floor next to the bar. He fiddled with his hands, unsure of how to proceed now. He was very well aware that she was agitated by the subject.

And Krystal was aware that perhaps snapping at the robot had put him off from her. She took a moment, laying down the bottle she was wiping down, before deciding to turn back around and walk up to Pathfinder, settling down in her own seat across from him.

He looked back at her, still not speaking but the question mark that popped up on his screen was enough for her to understand.

“Look, I didn't mean to yell at you.” Krystal started. “I just, really don't like the games. I don't have a reason why, but you have to understand sometimes things just, really upset people.”

“I'm sorry.” Pathfinder replied, his question mark was now a blue coloured sad emoji. “I should have stopped asking when you said you didn't watch them, there was no need to follow up.”

“No it's okay, I just get that a lot.” Krystal said. “I work here all week, I deal with Apex all the time, the last thing on my mind is the Apex Games. It's very stressful.”

“...That's understandable then.” Pathfinder replied, allowing his screen to return to normal again as he seemed to relax a bit. “I read that stress can be very bad for humans and put them in horrible moods.”

Krystal laughed a bit. “You don't know the half of it.”

She then gazed at the clock, and smiled, throwing her head back. “Oh thank god.”

“What?” Pathfinder cocked his head to the side.

“It's almost closing time.” Krystal stated. “That means I can soon leave here and head home.”

“Oh! Is it that late already?” Pathfinder asked, now looking at the time too. “I've been chatting to you a lot longer than I expected to!”

“Hahah, yeah. It may be busy here but time flies!” Krystal stated. “Well, I have to go start doing the till off for the night and closing down the bar, and then I have to collect Tucker from the Lounge, glad to see he didn't get kick-”

Just as she was saying this, another bouncer was lifting Tucker by the scruff of his collar and dropping him outside the bead curtain that covered the entrance to the Lounge.

Krystal sighed. “Nevermind.”

“Oh, how unfortunate.” Pathfinder commented upon seeing the scene too and watching Tucker mope up to the counter.

“Man, they did it to me again.” Tucker complained. “I thought you said Melvin would put in a good word?”

“He did.” Krystal replied, side eyeing Tucker. “He can't help you though if the Legends deem you annoying.” Krystal paused. “Though you lasted longer this time, maybe they're warming up to you. It's closing time soon anyway, so it's nothing to worry about.”

“Damn, that late huh?” Tucker squinted at the clock. “We still playing tonight Kay?”

“Maybe, I'm kinda tired from today.” Krystal spoke as she went over and collected some papers from a drawer under the cash and stepped out from behind it. “Are you heading out soon?” She asked Pathfinder who was still sitting at the counter.

He seemed to flinch a bit at the question, straightening up in his seat. “Oh! Yes I should, it's late. I wouldn't want to get in the way of you closing.” He replied, shifting to stand up. “Uhm, Krystal?” He looked at her.

“Yeah?” She questioned him.

“Can we do this again sometime?”

“...What?” Krystal stared blankly back at him, not processing what he was asking her.

“This. Talking like this, it was nice. Can we do it again sometime?”

“Oh!” Krystal replied suddenly. “Y-Yeah of course. Why don't we just like hang out tomorrow or something ahaha.” She added, a bit of sarcasm to her tone.

“Really? Well okay! Sounds like fun!”

Krystal paused. “No wait I-”

“Shall we, as they put it, grab a coffee sometime?” Pathfinder followed up with a synthetic laugh.

“Uhh-”

“I'll be seeing you friend!” Pathfinder suddenly waved her off, then let himself out of the bar.

“...What just happened?”

“Dude, did he just ask you to get coffee?” Tucker questioned looking back at Krystal confused. “Did I hear that right?”

“I don't know! I don't think he knows what that meant!” Krystal exclaimed. “I didn't mean literally, like I didn't think he'd-”

“He can't even drink coffee, bro what the fuck?” Tucker continued to question her.

“I don't know!” Krystal looked back at him, gesturing wildly again. “I was being sarcastic!”

“...So you've got plans tomorrow huh?” Tucker grinned, chuckling a bit. “Made friends with a MRVN?”

“I DON'T KNOW!?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Text messages formatted oddly, sorry if its confusing to read. It looks cool in a PDF because it actually looks like texting in the PDF, sorry!

Krystal didn't sleep much that night. Tucker tried to coax her mind off of things with the offer of playing more VR but she just... Couldn't focus after her shift at the bar. Somehow, she'd managed to accidentally agree to meeting with Pathfinder the following day.

Normally she wouldn't mind this, she was sort of happy about meeting someone new. Tucker was a good friend to her, but she did long to have a larger friend group, it was just that no one ever really took interest in her besides Tucker. But now someone had... The downside was though that this person was a MRVN unit, and one that killed people in the Apex Games, Krystal's least favourite blood sport!

Had she had her time back she would of responded a bit differently, she'd feel bad sure but she wasn't exactly interested in meeting up with a bot she just met not that long ago. She could of gave him some excuse as to why she couldn't meet with him, and just leave it at that and maybe just hope he'd take the hint and only stop in when she worked at the bar... But then again, he also set up the “date” and left so quickly she hadn't fully processed it until her head hit her pillow.

Pathfinder had asked her to go out for coffee, right? He wasn't just using a common metaphor like she originally stated, the robot probably actually expected her to meet him at a coffee shop... Maybe. How would she even get in contact with him? Did he have a cell phone? Would it be stupid for a robot like him to have a cell phone? Should she have asked for his number? He didn't even tell her _when_ or _where_ he wanted to hang out! What was she supposed to do here?

Could she just... Ignore it? Pretend she forgot about it? Would he even remember it by tomorrow? So many questions, and no answers. Krystal weighed her options. She could very well just ignore it and not show up as expected. She figured she had enough grounds to stand on with that given the situation, he was the one who left her in the dark so really it would be stupid for him to expect her to even consider showing up. She could put all the blame on him, and then explain how it was a bad idea for them to meet in the first place and then move on... But then on the other hand, Krystal had way too much empathy even for those who weren't human and she knew deep down she would feel like complete _shit_ knowing that she stood him up like that after being so friendly with him. She would be the stupid one for having lead him on and pretending like they were friends...

They could be friends, right? The world has changed so much, what was wrong with being friends with a robot? Elliot claimed to be his friend, and well, he was a bit more than the average MRVN unit it. She'd be lying to herself is she said she wasn't at least curious about Pathfinder as an individual. Also, he was looking for help. He probably reached out to her originally because of his seemingly desperate attempts to find his creator. Krystal had given him hope with that, telling him about Tucker and the fact they might be able to access some files about him from Hammond Robotics. Maybe he just wanted to get to know her to get closer to that goal, but she couldn't exactly blame him for that. It wasn't a bad thing to want to find out where you came from.

Krystal sighed as she opened her eyes again. She didn't get much rest, and she could easily go back to sleep given the fact it was only a half-hour past nine, but her anxiety wouldn't let her. She turned to stare at her phone sitting next to her on her night stand. The light peeking through her window's blinds and slightly illuminating the room provided enough motivation for her to decide to put things into motion, knowing that the day would only grow shorter from here.

She took the phone in her hands, looked at the time watching the clock turn over to the next minute. She then unlocked it, scrolling through the contacts. It wasn't a very long list and a lot of them were just co-workers from past jobs she never even spoke with any more. Barely any of them were friends, and then there was the family members she kept just to be able to recognize the numbers so she could ignore them.

Of course though, working at the bar meant she had to have direct contact to her boss in case of any last minute changes to her shifts or sudden updates. The majority of their conversations have been strictly work related, aside from occasional laid back flirting and jokes from Mirage, and his rare drunk texting. Today though, she wasn't treating him like her boss that she got along with, today she was approaching him with a question in mind. A favour, asking as a friend.

Hey.

Are you up?

Course I am. I'm always up at the crack

of dawn on Saturdays!

Ah. So are you busy right now?

Not particularly no

Why? Is there something up? You never

just randomly text me like this.

Especially on a weekend...

Actually you tend to avoid me on the

weekends.

I just have a quick question

if you have time.

Shoot.

So uh, y'know that MRVN unit you

work with?

Pathfinder?

Tall

blue

smiles a lot?

Yeah him.

Does he like... Have a cellphone or...?

I'm just wondering if there's a way I

can contact him.

...Yeah he has a phone. I think he got

it when he saw everyone else had 1

Keeps sending me outdated memes he

stumbles upon online.

...Why are you asking?

Krystal stared back at Elliot's question for a few moments. She debated with herself if she wanted to actually tell him what happened. He would probably have something to say about the situation right? She saw the three dots appear from Mirage's end, indicating he was about to send her another message, probably asking if she was still there. She quickly replied.

Something happened. Last night.

I need to get into contact with him to

confirm something.

Oh yeah you guys are like friends now

or something aren't u?

Do you mind if I ask what happened?

He asked me to grab coffee, I may

have jokingly said we could chat and

catch up over coffee, and I think he

might of taken it literally.

He told me he'd talk to me tomorrow,

which is today.

Ah.

Yeaaaah he does that.

So he actually expected to grab

a coffee?

  
Oh yeah, totally.

Path doesn't exactly... Get social cues

Something to do with how he's built I

guess but he tries to socialize with

everyone u have 2 be careful what

u say around him he will take it literally.

I've learned that the hard way.

So like, do you have his number then?

I feel bad if I just ignore him, but he

told me he'd meet with me, but then

didn't give me a way to contact him

or tell me where to meet him.

Sounds about right, yeah

Okay, if you're serious that you actually want

to follow through with this, give me a minute.

I'm sure.

I guess.

Thanks.

Krystal sighed again as she locked her phone and waited for Mirage's response. She put it back down on the night stand and stared at her ceiling for another minute before breathing in and stretching. She figured that she might as well get up and dressed for the day if she was actually going to go ahead with this and meet up with him.

Mirage responded, lighting up her phone screen. He sent her Pathfinder's supposed phone number. She copied it from the text and quickly pasted it into a new contact, saving it before sending a text through to the number.

Hi.

Hello.

I do not recognize this number. May I request who

I am currently speaking with?

Krystal rolled her eyes at the painfully obvious automated response. She probably didn't have to question if this was actually the MRVN unit she was speaking with based on that behaviour, but still she continued on.

It's Krystal. The girl you met at the Paradise

Lounge? I think you said you wanted to meet

with me today?

This is Pathfinder I'm talking to, right?

Ah, yes! I understand now. I do remember you, Krystal!

It hasn't been that long since we last met! I would

hope that I did not forget you in such a short time frame!

Your assumptions are also correct! You are speaking with

Pathfinder, local Apex Legend – That's me!

Fantastic.

If you do not mind me asking, how is it that you

acquired my cellular telephone's number?

Elliot sent it to me. Well actually I asked him

for it.

Oh! I thought Mirage had lost his phone? He told me that

he lost it, and he couldn't get a new one. Apparently you

are entitled to one phone per person, so when you lose it

you can't text your friends anymore! Because you do not

have a phone. He also told me that meant I cannot send

him strange images that make no sense out of context

anymore.

I guess he found his phone. I am happy for him. I should

start sending him all of the images I couldn't send him

previously!

I'm sure he'd love that.

Krystal, I would like to inform you I have now saved your

phone number into my contact application. You may now

text me freely, whenever you wish!

Thank you.

Hey can we talk about what we agreed on last

night? You weren't actually expecting to meet

for coffee, were you?

Of course! Why would I agree to something that I had no

intention of following through on? That just seems like

it would be a rude thing to do to someone. I don't like to

be rude to my friends!

I have been expecting you, I just assumed that you may be

running late.

Running late? You haven't even told me where

you wanted to meet!?

I have been standing outside waiting for you since they

opened this morning. I do not know how you take your

coffee, so I just ordered it black. I can not drink.

Pathfinder.

Yes?

Where.

Are.

You?

Krystal narrowed her eyes at the phone screen as she watched the typing bubbles appear on Pathfinder's side of the conversation. She was really considering just blocking his number and not showing up. It amazed her how such advanced technology could be so oblivious to things like this.

She was annoyed with him to say the least. He went ahead and bought her a coffee, without even asking her what she drinks, and was just standing outside the shop, expecting she would magically know where he was, and when to show up. Apparently he was expecting her at seven AM. _On a Saturday._ Was he insane!?

Her phone set off a small blip as his response appeared on the screen. She glanced over it before rolling her eyes once again and cussing under he breath. She shot him back a reply quickly, and started to head for the bathroom to at least make herself somewhat presentable in what short amount of time she had now.

Of course he chose the expensive cliche mainstream coffee shop instead of a quality no-name one in a quiet street corner. She didn't even like this brand of coffee! And it was located close to the mall and shopping area of the city, so traffic was going to be hell. She'd end up being later than she said she'd be, and that was already on top of being “late” by Pathfinder's standards. At this point she really should just drop him and stay home.

So why in the name of god was she locking her car, and heading across the street to the crammed coffee shop tacked on to a bookstore. She could see him from the street, he wasn't exactly hard to miss. A few people were giving him strange stares as they passed by him, and Krystal had to wonder did anyone not recognize him given how popular Apex was? Then again he was a MRVN, seeing one hanging at the shop with a cup of coffee was probably bizarre enough they didn't question it.

He seemed content enough though, smiling at people that would briefly take note of him, and obviously looking around for any sign of Krystal. It didn't take him long to lock on to her once she started to approach him. He eagerly walked to meet up with her, speaking before she could greet him.

“Oh good! You're here! I was starting to think you weren't going to show, friend.” His screen remained the same with the bright yellow smiley that stared back at her as he continued. “Here you go.” He trusted the coffee cup he was holding towards her, motioning for her to take it.

“Oh, um... Thank you.” Krystal sheepishly took the coffee. It was clearly cold, which was to be expected since he'd been holding on to it for nearly three hours now. “I was uh, delayed by traffic.”

“Two and a half hours of traffic must of been exhausting!” Pathfinder commented.

“...Yeah I uh.” Krystal sighed. “It was only an extra fifteen, I didn't leave my house till quarter after.”

“Really?” Pathfinder's screen changed to a question mark. “Did you forget that we agreed to hang out?”

“What? No I-” She sighed, looking away from the bot for a moment before gathering her thoughts to address him. “Pathfinder, you asked me to 'hang out',” She did some air quotes around the word with her free hand as she spoke. “But you didn't bother to tell me when, where, or how to contact you!” She looked back up at him. “Surely you see the issue with that right? How was I supposed to _know_?”

“Ah.” Pathfinder responded, his screen changed to an animated icon, two arrows rotating each other in a circle. He looked away from her while he processed this. “I suppose that was a bit of a problem, yes.” His screen reset itself.

Krystal couldn't help but chuckle a bit. “Just a little bit, yeah.”

“My apologies.” Pathfinder continued on. “I did not stop to consider the possible outcomes of this situation.”

She gave him a sideways glance, smiling a bit. “It's okay, it's worked out in the end. Just tell me where you had in mind next time, yeah?”

“I can do that.” Pathfinder agreed.

“Great. Thank you.” Krystal contently took a sip from her coffee. She then instantly realized what she had done as the cold bitterness of the brand named trash brew hit her tongue and she struggled to swallow it, desperately wanting to have spat it out. “Uhm, walk with me?” She coughed out, looking back up at the robot as she motioned for him to follow her, she took this time to pass by a trash can and slip the cup into it.

“So-” Pathfinder started talking again as he followed Krystal past the few shops and in to a near by plaza area so that they could sit down. “Do you have any plans for today?”

Krystal blinked back at him, a bit confused by what he was asking. “What? No, I didn't make any because I agreed to meet with you.”

“You cleared your whole schedule for me?” Pathfinder asked, his tone sounded a bit surprised. “Wow, you must think I'm important.”

“Well yeah?” Krystal questioned him. “ _When someone asks me to do something I'm not going to agree to it and then make plans to do something else._ ” She was referencing his own statements in a way. “Were you expecting me to have other plans? You said you wanted to chat again.”

“I did!” Pathfinder replied. “I mean, I did ask to chat with you again. I am glad you followed through with that.” He paused. “I made sure not to make plans either, so that we could chat.”

“Well, that's good.” Krystal responded after a moment. “So what did you-”

“Where are you from?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your home planet, almost no one in the Outlands are from the Outlands.” Pathfinder explained.

The question wasn't a strange one, and it was common for people to ask where others hailed from, but the way he brought it up so suddenly just felt... Off to her. Like it was automated, unnatural.... Well he was a MRVN.

“Why? Who's asking?” Krystal responded, half joking, but also curious if maybe Pathfinder was really just some elaborate plant by someone to track her down.

“Me. I am asking.” Pathfinder responded quite literally. “I don't really know where I'm from, but I like to ask others about their origins! Sometimes they come from places I've already been.”

“Oh.” Krystal looked straightforward now, gazing out a crowd of people walking by. “I don't know if you've heard of it, it's become pretty irrelevant now a days, but... I'm from a planet called Earth.”

“Earth?” Pathfinder repeated, and suddenly his screen lit up with an exclamation point as he turned towards her excitedly. “That's so far away from here! Are you really from Earth? I've read a lot about it. It's where Humans originated many years ago!”

“Uh... Yeah when you put it that way I guess it's pretty well known.” Krystal shrugged at Pathfinder's knowledge. “But yes, I'm really from there. It took me a long time to make it to the Outlands, that's how far away it is.”

“Wow! That is very cool, friend!” Pathfinder stated. “I hope I can visit there one day! I'm sure it's lots of fun!”

Krystal scoffed at the though of her home planet and the state she left it in. Her personal life aside, the planet was dying... Then again it was dying for a few thousand years now, and yet it was still supporting life. “Fun is one way to describe it, I guess.”

“Which part of Earth are you from?” Pathfinder continued with his questions.

Krystal hesitated for a moment. “Uhhhh,” She knew where she came from, she just hated to be reminded of it. She could lie, but what was the point in that, she doubted Pathfinder would be heading there anytime soon anyway. “Texas.”

“Texas!?” Pathfinder just seemed to be increasingly invested in Krystal's origins. “Like where the cowboys come from?”

“I-” Krystal opened her mouth to say something, but then sighed, smiling again as she turned away. “Sure thing, bud.” She gently exhaled with a chuckle.

“I wonder if my creator is from Earth?” Pathfinder took a moment to think on this. “Is he from Texas too? Was I created by a cowboy?”

Krystal shook her head. “I doubt it, I'm sure I would of remembered someone working on a project like you.”

“You make a good point... Maybe not Texas then, but I would still like to visit Earth.” Pathfinder responded.

“Maybe someday.”

Krystal stood up from the bench she was on, stretching and turning to face Pathfinder. “Welp, enough about me, how'd you end up in the games?”

“My friend Mirage put in a few words of encouragement.” Pathfinder stated, standing now to join her. “I have been all over the outlands doing various jobs, trying to find my purpose. I can do lots of things, and there's still so much I can't do... Yet! I was hoping playing in the games would help me find my creator, and they change so often that there's tons of stuff for me to do in them!”

“You actually like playing the games?” Krystal asked him, head titled to the side.

“Yes! I find it fun.” He paused. “Though I understand you don't like them, or like to watch them.”

“I don't like to watch them, no... But-” Krystal adverted her eyes, from Pathfinder now as she spoke her next bit. “My friend Tucker, he's showed me the VR game that's based on the Apex Games.”

“Oh?” Pathfinder leaned in towards her slightly with interest, question mark ever prominent on his screen. “So you've played the games, but in VR?”

“I guess?” Krystal replied, turning now to start walking again heading further into the plaza that eventually connected onto the public park. “It's just a game though, so it's not real... I don't get how the stuff I do in the game, is appealing for real, in like, real life.”

“It's fun!” Pathfinder stated again. “Probably more fun than the VR version.” He paused for a moment. “Oh, who do you play? I am aware they have uploaded copies of all of us into that game.”

“Uhm.” Krystal stopped again, standing under the shade of a nearby tree.

“Friend?” Pathfinder side stepped to stand in front of her so that he could see her face.

“Y-you, actually.” Krystal felt a small heat go past her face, she was a bit embarrassed, still finding it weird she was _talking_ with the guy she played in a video game. “I play you. Your play style is really fun in game, and well, I just uh-” She stumbled over her words a bit. “I just like playing you, your personality is fun, you're fun.”

“Oh!” Pathfinder's screen changed briefly to a bright pink emoji before returning to his normal smile as he continued talking. “I'm glad to hear you enjoy playing as me! Yes, I like to think I am very fun!”

“You don't find that weird?” Krystal looked up at him.

“Why would I? It is a game meant to be played.” Pathfinder replied. “I find it more strange that you enjoy the game, but will not watch the actual games.”

“I... Yeah I guess I'm strange like that.” Krystal replied.

“It's okay. You're allowed to not like certain things.” Pathfinder reassured her. “Though I really do encourage you to watch the actual games, if you're ever interested in them that is. I assure you they are a lot of fun, and not at all what you think they're like!”

Krystal frowned at him. “I don't know... Watching people kill each other for sport, it's just not appealing to me. I find it... Inhumane.”

“It's not! Everything is perfectly safe and fine to watch!” Pathfinder continued to encourage her. “I will not force you to, but please do consider it.”

Krystal remained silent for a moment, watching some of the leaves rustle nearby in the wind. “Alright.” She spoke, sighing and starting once more to walk. “I'll maybe give it a try. Some day. Not now.”

“That's okay!” Pathfinder chirped excitedly. “When you do watch it, you will have to tell me what you think of it.”

“I'll only do it because you asked, and I'll only be watching it for you.” Krystal spoke up, walking backwards now as she turned to speak with Pathfinder. “So you best preform well and give me something worth watching, yeah?” She smiled back at him.

Pathfinder's screen blinked for a moment between an exclamation point and his normal screen. “Well then, I suppose I'll have to keep that in mind next time I play!”

“Do you mind if I change the subject?” Pathfinder asked her as he watched her slow her pace to walk next to him now so that she wouldn't bump into something.

“Sure thing.”

“Why are you here?” Pathfinder turned his head towards her. “In the Outlands, I mean. Like I said, Earth is a very long way away from here.”

“Oh, I... Uhm...” Krystal's mood instantly dropped at the question. “I uh... Well you see I...” She stopped walking, her voice falling flat as she held onto herself, staring down at the ground. “Uhm.”

“...Are you okay?” Pathfinder stopped walking now too, turning to face her, hesitant to stand a bit closer. “Should I not have asked that?”

“No! No, no. It's fine, I just uh... It's complicated.” Krystal responded, snapping to attention as she gazed back up to meet his red gaze. “It's for a reason I'm not very... found of.”

“No?” He questioned her. “Why?”

“Well I...” Krystal stopped for a moment, then she stated bluntly. “I'd rather not talk about that.”

Pathfinder stared back at her, and learning his lesson from last night, he turned again to start walking. “Okay.” He stated. “I won't ask you about it anymore.”

Krystal stayed standing for a moment, watching him walk ahead before she decided to catch up with him. She was surprised that he didn't try to prod her for more information. It didn't go unnoticed that he was able to learn from his previous mistakes and experiences.

They continued to walk along the public path for a few more minutes. The silence between them was very awkward, though it seemed to only effect Krystal. Pathfinder was content to just keep walking in her company, though it seemed he had ran out of conversation topics. Krystal couldn't stand it much longer.

“So, know any good jokes?” She stopped once more, now being the one to step in front of him as she rocked on her heels a bit and stared back up at him.

“Oh, plenty of them!” Pathfinder replied as he clasped his hands together in front of himself. “Would you like to hear some of them?”

“Sure.” Krystal nodded.

Pathfinder's tone changed a bit to slightly monotone as he was most likely recalling stuff he'd saved to his memory. “Why didn't the sloths go extinct?”

There was a noticeable pause, he didn't continue. Krystal flinched as she caught on and responded. “Oh, sorry- Why?”

“They didn't plan on it!”

Krystal looked back at him, processing the punch line. “Heh.” She forced out a chuckle, though she didn't really think the joke was that funny.

“I have more.” Pathfinder continued. “What do you call a bear with no teeth?” He didn't wait for her response this time. “A gummy bear.”

“...Getting better.” Krystal shrugged as she motioned forward with her arm, pointing to another bench they could stop and rest at for awhile.

“What did the tree say after a long winter? What a re-leaf.”

Krystal genuinely snickered at that one.

“What kind of make up do ghosts wear? Ma-scare-a.”

“Okay these are more puns than jokes.” Krystal pointed out with a smirk.

“Sorry, maybe I'm just not that punny.”

“Did you just-”

“And here I thought I was a fungi.”

“Oh my god stop-” Krystal brought her hand to her mouth as she tried to cover a wide smile that was plastered over her face, the jokes were getting to her.

“I think you enjoyed that one.” Pathfinder spoke with a slightly smug tone as he seemed proud of the reaction he'd gotten from Krystal.

“Just a little bit... Maybe...” Krystal responded, laughing slightly and then clearing her throat so she could speak clearly.

“Is all you do in your spare time is memorize bad jokes?”

“No.” Pathfinder responded, hesitating before finishing. “I only do that on Thursdays.”

Krystal smirked. “What else do you do then?”

“Why do you ask?” Pathfinder tilted his head to the side.

“Well, you said you wanted to hang out right?” Krystal asked.

“This is what we're doing, isn't it?”

“I mean, yeah but-” She looked around at the park. “Were you just planning to spend the whole day in the park just chatting... Or did you actually want to do something?”

“...If I'm being honest I never thought this far ahead.” Pathfinder admited. “Normally when I asked people to hang out and they actually show up, they only stay for a few minutes to an hour and then move on again.”

“Really?” Krystal gave him a crooked expression. “What about your Apex friends? Elliot?”

“Elliot claims to be very busy outside of work. I don't like to disturb him much.”

“Oh.... Interesting.” Krystal looked down at the ground, messing with her shoes as she tapped them together. “So you were just expecting to have a coffee?”

“I figured that was reasonable.” Pathfinder said.

“It is, but-” Krystal looked up again now, smiling back at him. “Hey you said you play games yourself, right?”

“I do! Some of them I'm not too great at, due to incompatibility, but I do enjoy them!” Pathfinder stopped and looked Krystal over, realizing her expression and that she probably had an idea. “Did you have something in mind, friend?”

“...This is probably a dumb question but have you been into the mall?”

“...Rarely, only when I need to shop... And normally that's just buying gifts for my friends!” Pathfinder replied. “Also, It's a bit hard sometimes depending on my win to loss ratio.”

“Well no one seems to be caring about you today.” Krystal reached forward to take his arm, pulling him up from the bench with her as she stood and started to head outside of the park again. “Let's head on over and see how things go!” She looked up at him. “If people give you a hard time or anything I'll tell them to step off.”

“You'd do that for me?” Pathfinder asked her. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Krystal continued on. “So, tell me, have you checked out the arcade they have there?”

Pathfinder stopped for a moment, looking back at her, his screen flashing that pink emoji again. “They have an arcade!?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Text messages formatted oddly, sorry if its confusing to read. It looks cool in a PDF because it actually looks like texting in the PDF, sorry!

Krystal sighed contently as she rounded the corner and could finally see the door of her apartment waiting for her at the end of the hallway. She was looking forward to finally being able to kick off her shoes, and maybe watch some pointless videos online for a bit before she turned in for the night.

She approached the door and looked over the worn keypad, not really paying attention to the buttons she pressed as she'd done it so many times before it was almost second nature. She did however, pause, when she realized they didn't beep back at her in response and the normal sound of her door unlocking wasn't heard. She leaned in to take a closer look at the message on the faded screen; _Disarmed._

Was the keypad broken and it just didn't beep, or had she forgotten to unlock it before she left? It was possible, given she was in such a rush today, but he blood ran cold as she reached for the knob and found the door was left slightly ajar. She pulled back away from the door as it made a small creak from being disturbed. She waited, hesitant to enter, unsure if there was an intruder or not.

She took a deep breath, half annoyed. The last thing she needed now tonight was to find out she had been robbed. If she were to weigh her options, she'd rather have to deal with a kidnapper than to just find her apartment empty. She looked around the hallway for anything that she could use for a weapon, you know, just in case. Her eyes fixated on the stale newspaper at her feet.

Well it was better than nothing.

Roll in hand, she pushed the door open with her foot, making sure it was wide open and the light from the hallway lit her way as she stepped into her apartment.

“Hello?” She called out as she slowly made her way from the entry way and into the open living room. “Anyone here?”

The area was dead silent, and everything seemed like it was still there, or at least some key items like her TV, so maybe she wasn't being robbed.

Krystal continued to keep her guard up as she put down the rolled up news paper and fiddled around the apartment searching for the remote that controlled the living room's lights. She found it near the TV stand where she always kept it, though part of her was expecting it to have been moved. Nothing was disturbed, but yet she couldn't help but shake the uneasy feeling that she wasn't alone... She felt like her whole apartment that she'd lived in for a few years now, was now completely foreign to her.

Maybe she really did just leave the door open, it was a old after all. She was in a rush and she knew if she didn't properly shut the front door, any kind of draft would cause it to pop open, and if she had forgotten to arm the door, then it wouldn't of gone off and she could have left without realizing it was open...

She turned on the lights, and then turned around to go close the front door.

“Where were you!?”

Krystal let out a half scream half gasp as she turned around and was face to face with someone else. Her first reaction was to punch.

“Ah what the fuck!?” Tucker recoiled holding the side of his head.

“TUCKER!?” Krystal looked back at him in astonishment, pulling back and still holding her fighting stance and she tried to slow her heart rate. “What the fuck dude!”

“Don't you what the fuck me, what the fuck is wrong with you!?”

“A stranger breaks into my house and my first reaction is to throw hands, I'm sorry my survival instincts kick in!” Krystal hissed back at him, scowling as she stood straighter again. “So yeah, what the fuck are you doing in here? And why didn't you respond when I called out!?”

“I wanted to make sure it was you!” Tucker replied.

“Why wouldn't it be me? You've met me over voice first, how do you not know what I sound like?” Krystal questioned.

“Look there's a lot of strange technology out there and given the situation right now I wasn't going to take any chances okay!?” Tucker stated, turning back to face her now. “You ever hear of Deep Faking?”

Krystal sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Why are you here? How did you get in?”

“I was worried.” Tucker explained. “You didn't show up for our plans, and you weren't answering your phone so I figured I'd come here and investigate for myself before filing a missing person's report!”

"Our plans?” Krystal questioned him. “Okay no wait, I want to know how you got in first.”

“I may have jimmied your lock.” Tucker smiled sheepishly at her.

“You realize it's a keypad system, right?”

“Okay, so I used Steve.”

Krystal blinked at him, before raising her voice. “Who's Steve!?”

“Oh never mind!” Tucker walked up to her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Krystal, what happened? Why'd you ditch me like that? If you had other plans you could of just said so but you had me worried?”

“What do you mean?”

“You agreed to play VR with me again tonight, remember?” Tucker raised a brow at her. “I was standing around in the lobby like an idiot for an hour, then I had to go refund the booking, and then I messaged you, no response... And you ignored every one of my phone calls.”

“I... What?” Krystal blinked back at him then suddenly took out her phone and sure enough, she saw the missed notifications, texts, and calls. “Oh, oh my god Tucker, I completely forgot.”

“That's fine!” Tucker replied. “Just, y'know, a little bit of heads up so I at least know you're alive would of been great! What were you doing all day that had you busy?”

“I was just... Hanging out with Marvin.” Krystal replied, going through her phone to skim over all the messages Tucker left. “I guess we were having so much fun that we lost track of time.”

“Marvin? Who's- Wait do you mean Pathfinder?” Tucker looked back at her a bit confused. “Did you actually follow through with that from last night?”

“Yes of course, I couldn't just mislead him like that!” Krystal said, finally turning from tucker to go take a seat on her couch. “Also, how do you not know his real name? I thought you were all about the Apex Legends?”

“Real name? Krystal, hes a MRVN, are you telling me he named himself after the goddamn acronym?” Tucker laughed a bit as he asked the question.

“I think it suits him.” Krystal responded in a bit more of a prissy tone.

“Oh my god-” Tucker went to go sit across from her in the chair. “Okay I'm not even mad anymore, now I'm _intrigued,_ what the hell were you two up to all day that you've gotten his real name from him, and you've forgotten everything else you had planned for the day?”

“Well uhm-” Krystal leaned back into the couch, throwing her head back as she tried to recall everything that happened today. “I was late for one.”

“Late?”

“Well, only technically, in my defence he just left me with no information and I didn't expect he'd want to meet me at like seven AM.”

Tucker laughed “He did what!?”

“Yeah!” Krystal smirked back at him, laughing too. “The coffee he got me was cold by the time I got there, he'd been holding it for nearly three hours.”

“Oh man! That's hilarious!”

“I couldn't drink it! I tried! I felt so bad!”

“You left him waiting dude!”

“I know, shut up!” Krystal giggled then sighed as she shifted again in her seat. “Anyway we just kinda talked for a bit, he seems really big on talking.”

“I think he's just curious about everything” Tucker responded. “I was looking into some stuff, and apparently there's a whole file on Hammond's MRVN's getting into shit they shouldn't, purely driven by the algorithm just going 'what's that do?' so given his higher function he probably asks a lot of questions.”

“Oh that's cute, the MRVN's are a cute robot design.”

“You think they're cute?”

“Yeah? You don't?”

“Not particularly, no.” Tucker paused. “I think my nanomites are cute though, so- Continue.”

“Anyway, I kinda ran out of things to talk about, and it seemed like he just didn't want to talk for ten minutes and leave, so I suggested the nearby arcade...”

“And how'd that go over?”

“Really... Great actually!” Krystal sat up in her seat again, gesturing with her hands as she continued. “He's like, really good at the games. I don't know if it was cheating to let a robot play them but like, damn he was good. I struggled to beat him in some of the multiplayer ones.”

“I'm sure it's because, you know, computer?” Tucker tilted his head. “He was probably processing and going for the best outcomes at like a million miles a minute.”

“I don't know though.” Krystal frowned at him.

“Why?”

“I asked him a math question later on and he froze up for a solid minute before sheepishly replying 'uhhh... forty two?'”

Tucker furrowed his brow, leaning back and putting a hand to his chin as he thought about that response. “Well that shouldn't be right, he's a MRVN, anything a basic calculator can solve he should be able to.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Yes, actually.” Tucker replied. “I doubt you know the extremely complex equations that will error a MRVN's internal database, so he should of been able to answer your question.”

“Maybe he just didn't want to?” Krystal questioned. “It was kinda out of the blue and I was just trying to figure out ticket output by score at one of the games he didn't seem to interested in.”

“No no no, something's wrong” Tucker insisted. “By rights he should be able to solve any problem given to him!”

“I dunno Tuck-”

Tucker sighed. “Okay, look, moving on, any other reason why you forgot my calls?”

“Well, after that I was hungry, didn't have breakfast. So we went to the mall so I could buy something to eat.” Krystal continued on. “He uh... He was really interested in me telling him how the food tasted... It was weird but at the same time I kinda understood why, he can't eat, and as you said he's probably curious about everything but-”

“Alright so food fetish, got it-”

“NO.” Krystal frowned back at Tucker. “This is why we can't have nice things.”

Tucker laughed. “So you had food?”

“Yeah, and then we were just talking about some other stuff we liked, since we moved past video games as a common interest.” Krystal took a moment to think on the exact order of events. “We talked about books, he's uh, read a whole lot more than I have... And then movies came up among discussing media and online content.”

“You went to the movies didn't you?”

“...Yeah.” Krystal nodded. “It was like really good though okay so remind me to re-watch it with you sometime before its out of the theatres because you know I love excuses to go eat the popcorn.”

Tucker sighed. “Alright, noted, anything else?”

“Anything else?”

“After the movies?”

“Well I guess we did go back to the arcade, I was really after one of the prizes in the ticket booth... We didn't get it.”

“No?”

“No...” Krystal then suddenly shifted, reaching for her bag she had with her throughout the day and pulled out a small key chain of a plush character from popular media that Tucker was familiar with. “He did win me this though! So good enough! At least we had fun!” She smiled, giving the toy a little squeeze in her hands. “And after that I came home... then you scared the shit out of me.”

“You only then decided to come home?” Tucker questioned. “Figured you'd just spend the rest of the night with him.”

“Why'd you say that?” Krystal looked back at him confused.

Tucker blinked at her, and then looked towards her window, seeing the scattered city lights and the black sky. He turned his head back to look at Krystal before he spoke. “Krystal it's almost two AM.”

“W-What!?” Krystal quickly turned around to glance out the window too, and then pulled up her phone, looking at the time. “What!? When? How?”

“You've been gone for well over TEN HOURS.” Tucker empathized. “Do you understand why I was worried!?”

“Oh my god.” Krystal stood up. “Tucker I'm so sorry, I didn't realize... Really that long? I just... One thing after another and I just... Wow no wonder why you thought I forgot about you.”

“If I didn't know better I'd had thunk the damn bot kidnapped you.” Tucker laughed standing now too. “But you know it's okay, it sounds like you had a lot of fun today.”

“I did.” Krystal replied, looking away for a moment.

“Good! That's great then! I'm happy for you!” Tucker smiled back at her. “Kay, you barely get out anymore aside from work, unless I force you out. It's just work and then at home playing VR, you only ever talk to me really... So if you've made a new friend with Pathfinder, then who am I to complain about that?”

“...Is that what we are now?” Krystal questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“...I guess I am friends with him if I spent a whole day with the guy.” Krystal replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

“I guess you are.” Tucker nodded in agreement, then he laughed. “Just don't forget I was your friend first.” He paused. “And then also don't go disappearing on me every time you want to go hang out with him, okay?”

Krystal smirked back at him “Were you really that worried about me?”

“Yes! This shouldn't be a debate! I was ready to call the cops!”

She laughed. “Alright Tuck, I'll keep that in mind for the next time then.” She took a moment, then gave him a genuine smile “I do appreciate it though, it means a lot to know you were looking out for me.”

“Of course.” Tucker smiled back at her. “You're my best friend, if anything happened to you I don't know what I'd do with myself!” He then followed up that statement with a joke. “Who's going to be my ticket in to the Paradise Lounge then?”

Krystal shook her head and gave him a playful shove. “Alright, glad to know where your priorities stand.”

“You'd do the same for me, admit it.” Tucker replied.

“I would.” Krystal confirmed without hesitation. “Anyway, as you said, it's getting late. I'm completely worn out from today, so I'm going to bed.” She turned to start heading down the nearby hallway which lead to her bedroom and bathroom. “You staying the night?”

“Nah, I'll head on back home, no sleepovers tonight.” Tucker stated, turning to take his leave as well. “Stay safe, and lock your door.”

“Course.” Krystal replied and waved him off. “Have a good night, Tucker.”

“You too, Krystal!”

Krystal watched her friend leave and waited for the click of the door shutting before continuing on in to her bedroom. She quickly changed in to her pyjamas and followed through with her nightly hygiene routine before flopping down into her bed. Naturally she wasn't tired enough to fall asleep right away, so instead she took out her cell phone again, tempted to browse through social media.

Before she did however, the notification of her text messages caught her eye. She opened it, thinking it was Tucker with some last minute remarks or a bad joke, but instead-

Hello.

Hi.

Did you make it home okay?

I did, thank you.

Great! I am happy to know you are safe.

I must remind you that I did not mind accompanying

you, if you needed me to.

I know, I was fine though. Plus you said

your home was on the other side of town

so I didn't want to inconvenience you.

You would not have! I would of been happy to walk

you home tonight.

But it was late.

That's okay! I do not need to sleep, so the current

time of day would not have effected me!

...Maybe next time then.

Okay!

Wait, does that mean you would like to do this again?

Sure, I don't see why not?

Tonight was fun. I had a lot of fun hanging out

with you. So much so I forgot I had other plans

lol

Oh? You had other things to do today? Why didn't you

tell me? I am sorry I caused you to miss your appointments.

:(

Oh no it's okay! I had fun, and it was nothing

important! Really, don't feel bad! It was my

fault for not bothering to check my phone.

You should be more mindful of that in the future!

But, if you are interested then I would very much

like to hang out with you again.

I had a lot of fun today, too!

We got to know each other very well, and I like

spending time with my friends! Now you're my

friend too!

Hahah, yeah I guess I am.

It's late so unlike you, I do need some sleep.

I'll talk to you again later, yeah?

Of course! My line is always open, friend! :)

G'night Marv.

Goodnight, Krystal!

Krystal smiled back at her phone for a bit, staring at the conversation. It was a bit of an odd feeling to be saying goodnight to someone besides Tucker, but it wasn't exactly a bad feeling. If anything she'd longed for the opportunity, given her track record. For the longest time she wasn't saying goodnight to anyone, then she met Tucker, and she'd said goodnight to him a few times, but now they were such close friends that sometimes they didn't say goodnight, because they'd instead fall asleep while texting, or there would be no need because they'd agree to meet up the following morning anyway.

But now she had Pathfinder to say goodnight too, which only further enforced the fact that yes, he was her friend now. And because of that, she couldn't help but wonder if soon she too would be saying goodnight to him regularly, and sometimes forgetting to because they'd talked for so long she'd fallen asleep. It was a pleasant thought, because as much as she hated to admit it, Tucker was right in what he said. She didn't get out much outside of work, and she had little to no friends. She'd always struggled with that and how she managed to rope Tucker in would always be a mystery. But now she had Pathfinder.

She was friends with Pathfinder.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mindful of typos i missed and odd formatting from copy and pasting please :)

Sunday wasn't too terribly busy. To make up to Tucker for forgetting about their plans, Krystal agreed to do whatever he wanted to do all day. This mostly consisted of playing some of the games Krystal normally didn't take much interest in, and also playing for as long as Tucker wanted to. She did have fun with him, as she always did, and it was always nice to just waste a day at home playing video games.

Monday she was back in her normal work routine. The first day of the week was easy going per-usual and it would only slowly ramp up from there. Though this week was different. Normally Krystal would be dreading the oncoming rush that would happen every Friday when the games took place, but now she was suddenly eager for the week to end.

She'd been keeping in touch with Pathfinder. He'd text her at least once a day, and sometimes they'd get in to deeper conversations. He actually came in to speak with her on Wednesday, easily getting distracted with how different the Lounge felt on a weekday when it wasn't game night. Among their conversations, the topic of the Games kept coming up.

Pathfinder did keep in mind he told Krystal he would avoid talking about it as much as he could, knowing she said she didn't like the games... But it was what he did for a living! How could he not express to his new friend how excited he was for the upcoming match? He wanted to tell her about his other friends and how well he worked in a team with each of them.

At first Krystal was still being very stubborn about it, but through Pathfinder's eagerness to share about it, and Tucker also now using him as an excuse to talk to Krystal about it too, she finally found herself giving in. She'd agreed to watch one match. Just one, the one coming up this Friday. Pathfinder was happy to hear the news, telling her that he was going to preforming at his best to make sure her first viewing of the games was a good one. Tucker, was more than ecstatic too, happy that finally his best friend was willing to indulge in one of his special interests... Though he was also at the same time, just a bit bitter about the fact it took her running into Pathfinder to finally agree to something that he'd been asking her to do for well over a year now.

But she was finally going to watch it now so he could stop complaining, and Pathfinder could stop asking her about it.

“You're going to love it!” Tucker said as he took a sip from his drink while he sat at the bar and spoke back to Krystal. “Plus you've got the best seat in the house here at the bar! Look at all these TVs!”

“I only agreed to watch to get you two off my back about it.” Krystal responded to him as she went about her normal actions of tending the bar. “When does it start anyway?”

“Should be now in a few minutes.” Tucker replied, gazing up at the TV that hung above them.

“Don't expect me to like it.” Krystal warned him as she pulled up a stool and sat back on to him as she looked up at the TV too.

“Okay I won't hold you to any expectations.” Tucker agreed. “Though I have to question, was it really just to get me to stop asking about the games?”

“What do you mean?” Krystal side eyed him as she titled her head.

“I mean, is that really the reason you're watching, or is it because of _him?_ ” Tucker cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Yes! It's the same reason for him, he would not shut up about how well he preforms in the games.” Krystal replied. “He asked me to watch him preform, so I'm doing that.”

“So it is just because of him!” Tucker smirked widely at her. “You're just watching it to watch Pathfinder play!”

“He _asked_ me to.” Krystal scowled back at Tucker. “I don't know what you're suggesting but this ain't it chief.”

“Suuuuure.” Tucker continued to smile at his friend, he knew her better than herself sometimes.

“It's not! What do you think we-”

“Oh it's starting!” Tucker caught her off and pointed his attention back at the TV screens as other patrons of the bar also did the same.

The match began as normal at the new season location, New Dawn, also known as World's Edge by a handful of certain fans of the games. This was where they were playing since the Legends were sent there awhile ago to investigate some strange happenings shortly after Crypto joined up as the newest legend.

On the screen as the dropship passed over the land, the squads were displayed in groups of three each. Lots of recognizable faces appeared, but Krystal didn't pay much attention, as she waited for the familiar robot to show up with his squad. He was one of the last ones to be displayed, alongside Mirage and Wraith. She recalled the bot referring to the other two as some of his better friends, so it didn't surprise her that they were placed on a squad together for this match.

Finally, the champion squad from last match was displayed; Wattson, Octane and Lifeline. Each of them had a brief moment to toss a taunt out into the crowd before the screen faded away and cut back to the ship as they were all getting ready to jump and start the fight.

Krystal took a moment, leaning back in her seat as she tried to put together what she was seeing in her head... It made sense that Wattson, Octane, and Lifeline were playing this match, they were the champions, the champions always moved on to the next game, or so it seemed to work that way... But why was Pathfinder and his friends going against them? Weren't they all friends? She knew they were all in the same line of work but she didn't really consider the chance that they'd have to fight each other...

She looked over at Tucker concerned as she lost focus on the game. “Uhm.”

Tucker looked at her with the corner of his eye, he tried to keep up with the game as he questioned her. “What?”

“They're... Fighting each other?”

“It's a death match, Krystal, last one standing, of course they're fighting each other!”

Krystal shook her head, turning to face Tucker front on. “No, no I mean, Pathfinder and the other Legends... They are going against some of the other ones, the champions from last match...”

“Yeah! That's how it works!” Tucker responded a bit directly, as if he expected Krystal to know this already. “All of the Legends fight in the Friday match!”

“W-what?” Krystal questioned a bit stunned. “They agreed to that? But they're all friends! Or most of them anyway, how could they shoot each other?”

Tucker sighed annoyed with her questions as it was interrupting his focus on the game. “It's a game!” He stressed to her. “They're supposed to kill each other!”

“But, that means... I won't.... They won't be...” Krystal's head started to spin a bit as her stomach knotted thinking on the fact she wouldn't be serving as many people as she normally would tonight, she did know that only _three_ people walked away alive during these games.

“Shut up and watch the game!” Tucker continued on pointing back up at the screen where gunfire was already going down. “You won't enjoy it if you keep asking questions!”

Krystal debated with herself if she wanted to follow Tucker's advice and continue watching the game. It couldn't be happening like this, right? She was feeling a little sick just thinking on the outcome of tonight and what she'd be faced with afterwards... And then a familiar voice that rang through the TVs caught her attention as she looked up and saw the cameras were currently focused on Pathfinder's group.

She watched him create a zip line from the City to the path that lead into the Train Yard as he motioned for his friends to group up with him. “I think we should check out over here!” He announced as he took the first lead on the zip line, and then Mirage and Wraith shortly followed suit.

They ended up stopping just in front of a tunnel that ran through the mountain side. The camera continued to follow them from the other end, which also included another squad coming up on them. This other squads seemed to have the jump on them, but they were quick to respond. Mirage sent out a decoy and Wraith made a portal, when it was done Pathfinder followed behind her and then the real gunfire started.

Krystal was glued to screen watching as they jumped and slid for cover, restoring shields like the pros they were and taking pot shots at the enemy squad. She then took note of who they were fighting... Bangalore, Caustic and Bloodhound.

She winced as Caustic got clipped and went down in a large blood splatter, the camera cutting back to the one who shot him – Pathfinder with a sniper. Krystal was surprised by that, seeing no reaction from the bot from killing his supposed friends. A few shots flew past him shortly after downing Caustic, causing him re-coil as his defences broke. His group suddenly retreated back into the tunnel they came through as Bangalore put down a shield of smoke around Caustic and then threw a signal.

The trio were cut off before they could reach the cover of the tunnel. A bunch of missiles dropped down in front of them, threatening to explode. They were trapped out in the open and couldn't make it. Bloodhound was heard quickly approaching them followed by Bangalore, and the group turned back around again, scrambling to form up as they would have no choice but to fight them.  
  
The explosions went off.

The match then cut to the other end of the map to start following the champion squad. It seemed they were playing it mostly safe this match and had effectively avoided everyone so far, gearing up for a larger fight later on into the match.

“No! No go back!” Krystal jumped up out of her seat looking up at the TV screen.

“Right! That was such bullshit! I hate when they cut it like that!” Tucker responded watching her continue to scan the TV screens frantically, hoping one of them was still focused on Pathfinder's group.

“I... I need to know what happened!” Krystal replied. “Are they okay? There's no way they survived that! And what about Dr. Caustic and- and-”

“Wow Krystal.” Tucker smirked at her. “I didn't expect you to get this invested so easily!”

“WHAT HAPPENED!?” Krystal turned back to look at him, she had wide eyes and seemed like she was actually serious about her question.

“H-huh?”

“How could they just- Who allowed them to- WHY? WHY DID THEY DO THAT?” Krystal continued to ask him, hands twisted in themselves as she continued to panic. “I thought they were all fr-friends! They're dead now! I'm- I won't get to-”

“Krystal?” Tucker stood up now to walk over to her, holding a hand out in offering and being cautious of her reactions. “What's wrong? Why are you so upset?” He continued. “It's just a game, they're not-”

“It's not just a fucking game!” Krystal hissed back at him, tears starting to stream down her face. “They're dead! There's no way anyone survived that! This game is real life, Tucker! I told you I hate it!” She sobbed. “It's barbaric, unnatural, I can't believe you like this SHIT. ITS AWFUL.”

Tucker looked around distressed as her yelling was attracting a few stares. “Krystal, please calm down-”

“Clam down!? You expect me to calm down when!”

“Just watch the damn TV!” Tucker exclaimed back at her. “You'll understand it at the end! Look they're back!”

Krystal spun around instantly on her heels, looking back up at the screen again and wiping her eyes to focus more clearly on it. The screens had cut back to Pathfinder's team again, and it seems they were okay. They were alive, and now exploring more areas past the Train Yard and making their way to the Geysers.

She couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of relief upon seeing this. She didn't know how, maybe she didn't want to know how, but they were safe. They managed to make it out of that last skirmish alive. Her attention was brought to the numbers that displayed the remaining squads in the match. It was noticeably lower than when it started. A feeling of guilt and sadness still took root within her... Sure Pathfinder and his friends had made it out alive, but only one squad can walk out in these games. So that meant... Bangalore, Caustic and Bloodhound... She never knew them very well but they were always alright to serve drinks to. Well maybe not Caustic he could be a bit, questionable, sometimes, rude even, but still even he didn't deserve...

Her thoughts were ripped from her again as gunfire started up as soon as they made their way into the water springs. Crypto's drone had flown by and picked up on them and they shot it down, and were now on high alert for his squad and ready for yet another fight. And yet, another loss would happen today it seemed. All of the Legends were playing... She still didn't understand why. Why would the Apex Games kill off all their champions in one be all end all match? Were they hoping to replace them? Or maybe these cruel blood sports were finally coming to an end.

Wraith tipped the group off to the positions of Crypto's squad, and lobbed a grenade to flush them out of a building near the mountains on the left side of the area. Mirage followed up with a decoy on the right to distract them, as Pathfinder used another Zip line and followed them to the left to engage once again.

They caught Crypto in a corner couched where he was trying to recover his drone and took him out quickly before they got ambushed by Gibraltar who was hiding in the building with his gun ready to fire. He managed to take out Wraith who stumbled back behind a rock, struggling as she bled out.

Gibraltar then tossed a grenade causing Pathfinder and Mirage to scatter and panic for a moment giving him time to rush over to Crypto and pick him up inside his shield. The boys were quickly oriented again and about to push into the protection of the dome, before Mirage got clipped from a completely different squad.

It was the champion squad. Mirage grunted as he too dropped, going invisible as he did so. Pathfinder was left surprised and instantly retreated on the advancement to try and locate the legends who were firing at them. He grappled onto a nearby rock to launch himself back towards the cover of the building that Gibraltar was previously in.

This was apparently where Wraith had ended up as she caught his attention from the corner of the room. Pathfinder quickly reacted as he slammed the door and did his best to pull her to her feet, she was hurt but down yet. Hopefully Mirage would get back up to finish the fight too.

Crypto and Giblatar were holding their own in the corner of the springs covered by rocks. Wattson was smart though as she made her way into the area and put fences around them, they were safe, but they would have a hell of a time trying to leave the location. Then came the familiar yell of Octane who was using a jumpad to take the same route Pathfinder had taken, landing in front of the closed door and slamming on it to open it up.

Instantly Pathfinder and Wraith started to shoot, but Octane effortlessly dodged their gunfire, kicking off the back wall to flip over them and land behind, appearing to break their shields. The pair continued to lay into, managing to actually land a few shots forcing him to retreat into the back rooms of the building.

“Guys! Give me a hand!?” Mirage called out, he somehow managed to drag himself up the stairs of the building. Pathfinder and Wraith looked back at him, impressed if anything that he managed to survive for this long. Wraith moved in to pick him up as Pathfinder took time to reload his gun, they were still weary of Lifeline and Wattson, assuming they were camping Gibraltar and Crypto.

Crypto's drone was up and running again and trying to find a way for himself and Gibraltar to reasonably get out of this situation, preferably alive and with minimum damage. He flew it over to the building and poked his way inside though the window to find out how many legends were still standing.

“Heads up!” Mirage exclaimed as he moved and got shot down again as Wraith was trying to get him back to his feet. Lifeline had decided to move in, trying to reach Octane to help heal his wounds.

“Path we need you!” Wraith called out, before then getting instantly knocked down by Lifeline as well.

Pathfinder seemed to hesitate for a moment, not knowing what to do. Octane was still a threat but both of his friends were down once more. It didn't take him long to make up his mind and he turned around to head back out the door, instantly shooting Lifeline and knocking her down now too. He quickly turned to assess the problem with Crypto and Giblatar, questioning why Wattson was setting up so many fences instead of just attempting to take them on while they were trapped in that location.

Crypto's drone flew through the building, picking up on Octane and catching his attention. Octane quickly got an idea as he popped a stim and followed after the drone. He grabbed it quickly and bolted out the door with it in hand, aiming for Pathfinder while his back was turned.

Wraith seemed to react first, reaching a hand out towards the robot as he was trying to pick her up again. “No wait! Behind-”

_THUNK!_

Path stumbled a bit as the metal of Cryptos drone cracked against the back of his head, followed up by the force of Octane rushing into him. It was kind of amazing how Octane managed to coordinate that given how much larger and heavier the MRVN was than himself, but yet he managed to topple him, gaining the upper hand.

“Hey!” Crypto cussed as he noticed his drone was being abused and then nodded to Gibraltar who then gave him a boost over the large rock they were hiding behind as they finally decided to take part in the action, feeling they'd have the upper hand now.

“Bonjour.” Wattson was there to meet Crypto as he landed, two arc stars in both her hands.

Crypto looked at her surprised and was about to shoot but considered if he got hit with the grenade... Except he also realized there was no where he could run, and he couldn't destroy the fences in time to let Gibraltar out as they planned. In fact, Wattson had everything barred off with her fences, they were trapped twice over.

“Well, this looks like you're in quite the _sticky_ situation.” Wattson grinned at him. “Don't act so surprised, it's not a very _shocking_ outcome!” And with that she tossed the two arc stars at Crypto, sticking both to him.

“... _Fuck._ ”

There was a large explosion.

Octane was startled by it as he looked back to check on Wattson, this was a mistake though as this let Pathfinder regain some ground again, and he quickly shot his grapple at Octane, pulling him down to the ground as well.

This was still anyone's game as both of them had lost hold of their guns in the impacts. Octane struggled to pull himself upright as the bot was already looming directly over him, fists at the ready.

“Uh.” Octane hesitated for a moment looking back up at Pathfinder. “Anyway we could discuss what just happened? Ya know with the whole me taking you from behind and-”

“That was not very 'cash money' of you friend.” Pathfinder commented, his screen displaying a red faced angry emoji, before switching to his threatening “K.O” as he was about to lay into Octane.

Octane recoiled as he was lifted by the scruff of his collar and braced for impact. He then stopped, holding his hands up. “Wait! Wait!”

Pathfinder stopped mid motion, the sudden pleading startling him with a question mark display.

“If I were you, I'd watch your back, Amegio!”

“Huh?” Pathfinder looked over his shoulder only to be met with the receiving end of Wattson's shotgun barrel.

The sickening crunch of metal and shrapnel echoed through the area and across the bar's TV screen in time with Wattson pulling the trigger.

Krystal's heart dropped. The sounds of the bar quickly drowned out for her as she watched the screen and saw the destroyed body of the MRVN unit dropping off screen. The cameras of course, didn't care, and kept rolling. Krystal soon collapsed in front of the bar onto her knees, she couldn't handle to see the rest of the match through.

“Whoa! Hey!” Tucker reacted instantly to join her at her side. “Are you okay? What's wrong? Are-”

“D-Don't touch me!” Krystal turned away from him harshly. “He's... They just... I barely knew him!”

“Krystal, please you really need to calm down!” Tucker sighed as he tried to console her. “I know this looks bad but.”

“He's dead! They're all dead Tucker, are you blind!?” Krystal snapped back at him, tears flowing again but this time more with a bitter rage than complete sadness. “What kind of fucking maniacs created this game!? Why do people join it? For what? Money!?”

“Well mostly, yeah but-”

“I'm going to be sick!” Krystal brought her hands to her mouth holding back a dry heave. “I hate this! I hate this job! I hate this place! I hate the games!”

“Look you're not listening to me, I can explain it all if you'd just-”

“I don't care!” Krystal continued to yell. “Just leave me alone! I can't believe you can condone this blood sport!”

 _“Krystal._ ” Tucker sighed, he was annoyed now by how irrational she was being, but never the less he was still her friend and he would see this through with her. “Look, okay I get it, you're upset, that;s okay.”

Krystal started to cry again, looking away from him and curling in on herself.

Tucker forced himself into her bubble to hug her and console her. “It's okay.” He told her again. “Let it all out.” And then following that he couldn't help but think to himself how _stupid_ she was going to feel in just a few more minutes.

“We have your Apex Champions!”

Once again, per-usual, the bar went up in an assortment of different cheers and call outs, and everyone started to make their way over to the landing zone of the dropship.

“Krystal,” Tucker attempted to talk to her again. “Krystal, you have to get up, the customers are going to be looking for their drinks soon.”

“Fuck em!” Krystal hissed back.

“You have a job to do still, c'mon you're a big girl, you're strong.”

“Shut up.”

“No, not going to do that.” Tucker attempted to lift her to feet forcibly. “C'mon you still gotta serve the champions.”

“I don't want to.” Krystal sooked.

“C'mon!” Tucker continued to coax her. “Look, if you keep working here you can work your way up the ladder and shut the games down, is that what you want?”

“Well maybe I-”

“Hey, what's going on here??? Krystal???” A voice called out over the crowd and across to the bar.

Krystal froze in place, she could of sworn she recognized it but-

“Hello? Star-employee? We have thirsty customers, and Legends!”

No, it was, but how was it even possible?

“Look, see I told you!” Tucker motioned towards the source of the voice which was unmistakably coming from Mirage. “You don't have all the facts about the games, Krystal! I wish you'd had let me explain.”

“What?” Krystal looked back at Mirage as she noticed him grumpily approaching the bar.

“What do you mean, what?” Mirage responded to her. “C'mon! Chop, chop! This is unlike you, you're normally on the ball! Something up?” He paused when he noticed she was staring back at him with the same bewildered expression. He then waved his very real and not dead hand in front of her. “Hel-looooo?”

“Ahh-” Tucker butted in, placing his hands on Krystal shoulder and trying to direct her back towards the drink taps in the bar to hopefully get her going. “Sorry, someone's just witnessed her first match, apparently.”

Mirage cocked a brow at him, looking Krystal over again before addressing Tucker's comments. “Really?” He questioned. “I thought she didn't care about the games, told me a hundred times when I start bragging about it.”

“Well first time for everything, huh?” Tucker looked back at Krystal again, nodding his head to tip her off that maybe she should start in on making some drinks.

“What's the hold up, ladies?” Bangalore pushed her way into the bar as well, sitting next to Mirage. “I pay for premium service so I expect my drink to already be waiting for me after a shitstorm of a match like that!”

“Relax Bangs, Krystal just seems a little confused at the moment, huh?” Mirage stared Krystal down, she really needed to go back to her job.

“Wait I- I thought you died too!” Krystal pointed at Bangalore.

“Pssh, in the ring, yeah. In real life? Takes a hell of a lot to keep me down.” Bangalore responded.

“Evening.” Caustic also walked up, followed with Bloodhound. “Is there a problem here? Ran out of alcohol, Elliot?”

“No, it's all good, just a few misunderstandings.” Mirage sighed. “Ah watch out, I'll cover it this time.” He then hopped over the bar, taking over the drink station and starting to mix up drinks for everyone.

“You okay?” It was Wraith down at the end of the bar that was calling out to Krystal. “You seem a little... agitated.”

“H-how...” Krystal kept stammering out in confusion.

Eventually the rest of the Legends joined them, including The champions which were Lifeline, Octane and Wattson, twice in a row now.

Lifeline instantly noticed Krystal's shocked expression shortly after getting filled in on the situation unfolding at the bar. “What's wrong with 'cha?” She addressed the question at the group standing around instead of at Krystal. “Yuh all wouldn't know when someone's gone in to traumatic shock if it kicked ya teeth in!” She let herself into the opposite side of the bar as she approached Krystal carefully. “You looked terrified out of ya skin! Seen a ghost now, didja?”

Krystal blinked and looked back at the medic trying to assess her. “You're... You're all alive?”

“Uh, duh?” Mirage pipped up next to her as he slid by with some drinks for Wraith and Bangalore. “It's part of this thing called living, you should try it sometime.”

“But, I've watched the match, I saw you all...”

It was at this point Tucker stepped in for her again, explaining it to the group. “Krystal's never seen the Apex Games and doesn't know how they operate. I think she actually believed it was a blood sport where people actually got killed off after every match, and seeing you all fight each other probably had her convinced almost everyone she was used to was dead.” He paused. “That's my guess anyway.” He shrugged.

“Wait, what?” Mirage questioned and then laughed. “Oh you actually thought- Ya see this is why you should of been watching me!”

Some of the other Legends laughed a bit too, which trigger Krystal to reply.

“Why are you all laughing at me!?” She snapped. “I thought you all died!”

“That's not exactly how it works-” Wattson spoke up. “The games use an advanced technology, it scans us and then when we die, we go into a statis, where our physical forms can be recovered and brought back as good as new.”

“We never actually die.” Crypto chimed in. “It's all fabricated.”

“Exactly!” Wattson confirmed.

“See!” Tucker spoke to Krystal again. “I told you that you didn't have all the information on how the games worked, they're all fine! And this is why people like to watch it, because it's not actually real! It's damn good entertainment though.”

Krystal took a moment to process this, her face flushing now as she realized how stupid she had been acting prior to this information. “I... I didn't realize.”

Mirage put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it's all good, now you know, and just to let you know since this seems to be a onetime deal, I won't cut your wadges for the night for not having everything ready.”

Krystal squinted at him, questioning how nice that offer truly was. She took the drink tray from him and started to pass out the drinks to everyone as she normally did, slowly slipping back into her groove now that the threat of them actually dying was cleared up. She was still a bit shaken from the violence but at least they were all still here for her to be serving in the first place.

Well almost everyone.

“Wait.” Krystal spoke up after handing off the last drink. “Does the system that recovers you only work for organics?”

Wattson raised a brow in response. “Why do you ask?”

“I don't... Where's-”

“Krystal!” All stress and worry instantly left her body in a flush of relief as she recognized the normal synthetic voice calling out to her.

“Pathfinder!” Krystal eagerly ran to meet with him at the far end of the bar. “What took you so long? Where were you when everyone else showed up?”

“Respawn takes a bit longer for me sometimes. It wasn't built with legends like me in mind.” Pathfinder explained, his screen displaying his normal happy face. “But I'm here now!” He paused. “Why? Were you expecting me sooner?”

“Well, not exactly I just-”

“Ditzy Doo over here thought the games were real and we actually perished.” Bangalore snorted as she took a sip of her drink, completely aware she was throwing Krystal under the bus.

“Oh!” Pathfinder's screen changed to a few exclamation points. “No, the games do not work like that! In actuality they-”

“I know! Well I know now!” Krystal put her hand up to stop him, and also tossed a glare at Bangalore. “I didn't know before I started watching though, I told you I didn't know anything about the games because I didn't care about them. I'm sorry I didn't know that's how they worked.”

“That's okay!” Pathfinder replied, his smile appearing once more on his screen. “We all make mistakes! Haha, like during that last fight where I mistakenly listened to Octane.”

“Hey, if it works it works!” Octane called out to him from down at the other end of the bar, raising a drink glass towards him before downing it.

“That... Was actually pretty dumb in retrospect.” Krystal admitted as she was recalling what she did retain from the graphic scene.

Pathfinder focused his optic back on her instantly with his screen returning to the exclamation point to reflect his excitement. “So you did watch it then? The match?”

Krystal nodded. “Of course, I didn't really want to and I don't know if I'll watch it again, but yes I did watch this one.” She paused. “I told you I'd watch it and It would be rude to say I'd do something that I'm actually not going to do.” She smiled then, rephrasing what Pathfinder had told her a few days ago.

He seemed to approve of this. “Wonderful!” He replied. “Hopefully you will consider to watch more! I really hoped you would enjoy it!” He paused. “Now that you know it's faked, it might be more enjoyable, yeah?”

“...Maybe.” Krystal said, then turned her attention away. “Anyway, you deserve a break, go chill with your squad, I'm sure Mirage wants me to take back over the bar here.”

“Oh... Uhm, of course.” Pathfinder replied, he raised his hand breifly towards her then pulled back again, looking past her to see Mirage struggling with the drinks and then glanced down at Wraith who was chatting up a storm with Wattson currently.

Krystal easily took over from Mirage's position and started to act as if nothing happened at all. She was a borne natural for this job, or so it seemed at least. She finished off the Legend's drinks and started working on serving the normal patrons of the Lounge as quickly and effectively as she could.

Pathfinder watched her work for a few minutes before glancing around at his other friends. They were paired off again heading into the retreat or hanging around the bar with some VIPs. As they were every time, they all seemed contented drinking and chatting with each other, even cracking some jokes and laughing at the punchline that he didn't quite catch. Some of them weren't exactly people that enjoyed his company much, and he was a ware of that. He did have Mirage though, he could always count on him-

Except when he was surrounded by fans and dishing out signatures and doing a photo shoot. Tucker was also standing near him, having some how weaseled his way in since he was with Krystal at the bar and Mirage needed someone to fall back on to start forming a crowd, and of course Tucker was his guy for that.

Maybe Lifeline- no wait, she was lecturing Octane about his behaviour during the last fight. Hopefully she'd agree that using Crypto's done to get the advantage in that fight was a bit unfair. Either way he'd leave them be for now.

He didn't win today either, so not many of the VIPs currently seemed interested in him either. Funny, he probably shouldn't of ran away from that group of women when he first ended up meeting Krystal, maybe they would of stuck around a bit longer...

Krystal. She was still tending the bar of course, nothing changed in this short amount of time. She was busy as ever, and she kept passing by back and forth in front of him. He took a moment, then called out to her again, pausing her actions breifly.

“Krystal.”

Krystal stopped walking with two trays of drinks in hand, glancing back at him across the bar. “Yeah?”

“Uhm.” Pathfinder took a moment, looking down then shooting his gaze back up again. “Do you want to grab a coffee sometime?” He started to fiddle with his hands when she didn't respond right away. “... _Again?_ ” He added.

Krystal looked back at him, slanting her mouth in a puzzling expression and tilting her head at him slightly.


End file.
